No one would have guessed it a year ago when Mack was a struggling rookie, but the center should anchor the line for the Browns for a long time.
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BEREA, Ohio — We'll never know if things would have worked out had the Browns kept the No. 5 pick in the 2009 draft and called the name of quarterback Mark Sanchez.
Despite being the quarterback on the Jets' team that went to the playoffs, there remains some doubt about Sanchez as a passer. Is he a solid quarterback on a very good, experienced running team? Or will he be an impact player?
This much is certain, the Browns did the right thing when they made Alex Mack their first-round pick at No. 21 after a series of draft-day deals that started with shipping No. 5 to the Jets. As for the rest of the trade -- Abe Elam, Kenyon Coleman, Brett Ratliff and David Veikune -- you can debate whether the Browns received enough.
Mack played all 16 games, every down for the 5-11 Browns. By the end of the season, he had established himself as a durable center giving hints that he can be much more than that. That happened in the final four games of the season, when the Browns went 4-0 and ran for 900 yards.
Mack had plenty of help from left tackle Joe Thomas, guards Eric Steinbach and Rex Hadnot and right tackle Floyd Womack, who was more effective at that spot than he was most of the season at right guard.
But Mack was at the heart of the line, making the calls, learning to lead as a rookie.
While Eric Mangini hesitates comparing Mack to the Jets' star center Nick Mangold, you can sense the Browns' coach sees Mack heading in that direction. Mangold was one of Mangini's signature picks with the Jets.
The website profootballfocus.com rated Mack the No. 6 center in the NFL last season. Who knows how close that is to accurate, because people who evaluate linemen for those sites don't know the blocking schemes or what a center is supposed to do in various offenses.
But this much is clear, Mack can anchor this line for a long time.
You'd never have guessed that a year ago when Mack seemed to spend the summer running laps for blown assignments and lousy snaps.
"Snaps to the left, to the right," said Mangini. "Snaps early, snaps late . . . snaps all over the place."
Mangini was putting pressure on Mack to learn a new offense, to deal with crowd noise as music blared during drills. He wanted his rookie from the University of California mentally and physically exhausted, so that he could handle the demands of the regular season.
It was the same system that developed Mangold.
"This summer, I feel much more comfortable," said Mack, who credited veteran center Hank Fraley with speeding his development.
According to Profootballoutsiders, 63 percent of the Browns' runs were between one of their guards and the center. That is the third most in football. Since the Browns ranked No. 8 in rushing with the NFL's worst passing attack, it shows someone was blocking with authority.
All of this may sound a little technical, especially in May. But Browns fans care about this stuff. Most were thrilled when left tackle Thomas was the team's No. 3 pick in the 2007 draft. They know that spending money on veteran guard Eric Steinbach in 2007 made sense.
While some fans would have preferred the Browns take a chance on Sanchez, most agreed the team needed a good center. Fans still e-mail about wanting another lineman for the right side, to compete with newcomer Tony Pashos, rookie Shawn Lauvao, Womack and John St. Clair.
Mangini believes you build a line with two terrific tackles and a star center, with veterans filling the guard spots. Former GM Phil Savage had the same philosophy. That's why he picked Thomas and made free agent LeCharles Bentley the game's highest paid center in 2006 -- but Bentley never played for the Browns because of knee problems.
Now, Mack has the job, and so far, he's done it extremely well.
How do we know?
"I don't want to [jinx] him," said Mangini. "But he's yet to run a lap or have a bad snap."