Cleveland Browns General Manager Tom Heckert's 2012 draft produced starters Trent Richardson, Brandon Weeden, Mitchell Schwartz, James-Michael Johnson and Billy Winn.

(Photo by Chuck Crow, The Plain Dealer)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- I have no clue if the rumors about Mike Lombardi being the Browns' next general manager are true.

I do know that if the choice is between Lombardi and current Browns general manager Tom Heckert, the answer is simple.

Heckert stays.

There should be no serious discussion of Heckert vs. Lombardi.

A former executive with the Browns and Raiders, Lombardi's draft record doesn't come close to matching what Heckert did in Philadelphia and with the Browns.

In fact, Lombardi was very critical of the Browns picking Josh Gordon in the second round of the supplemental draft.

Nor was he thrilled with the 2012 Browns draft -- the one that produced starters Trent Richardson, Brandon Weeden, Mitchell Schwartz, James-Michael Johnson and Billy Winn. He also added John Hughes and Travis Benjamin, who have played a lot as rookies.

The grade Lombardi gave that draft? It was a "C."

I know draft grades are silly. It's why I don't even give out letter grades.

But I knew this much immediately after the draft -- it was much better than average. I also wrote it had a chance to change the dismal course of the franchise.

The Browns are among the NFL's youngest teams, opening the season with 26-of-53 players who either were rookies or had one year of NFL experience. Their sudden rise -- winning four of the last seven games -- is the product of some smart moves in the draft.

If he had not been suspended, Joe Haden (first rounder, 2010) would be named to the Pro Bowl this season. He's that good.

Suddenly, fans can see what inspired Heckert to trade up to the second round in 2010 for Montario Hardesty, a pick that I feared would be wasted because of the running back's seemingly never-ending injuries.

I'm not going to sort through all of Heckert's picks, or spend a lot of time ripping apart Lombardi's drafts with Bill Belichick and the Browns in the 1990s.

But it's obvious that Heckert has given Browns fans real reason for hope because of the infusion of young talent.

You may not be sold on Weeden as an impact quarterback, but he has a chance to grow with this young team.

Aside from the impressive 2012 class, I'm intrigued by Greg Little, Phil Taylor, T.J. Ward, Jabaal Sheard and several other of Heckert's picks from 2010 and 2011.

Lombardi has not worked full-time for an NFL team since 2007. He was a special assistant to Raiders owner Al Davis from 1999-2007. In 1998, he worked for the Eagles, but left when Andy Reid arrived and changed some of the front office.

New Browns CEO Joe Banner has worked with both Lombardi and Heckert in Philadelphia.

I've heard some people say that Banner and Heckert got along well, and others say their relationship was strained in Philadelphia.

I don't know what is true.

And I can't be certain how many of the Eagles' draft picks during Heckert's tenure (2001-09) where truly his because Reid had the final say on football decisions. I do know that the Eagles made a lot of smart selections when Heckert was there.

But the Browns' last three drafts have been Heckert's. His fingerprints are on virtually every player,

Yes, former team president Mike Holmgren insisted on picking Colt McCoy in the third round of 2010 -- a wise move, as McCoy certainly is a good backup quarterback who will never embarrass a team if he's asked to start.

Otherwise, Heckert has been bringing in the players for the last three years, and receiving good reviews from his coaches.

After he was fired, Eric Mangini told me how much he liked working with Heckert -- and thought Heckert was a strong talent evaluator. Obviously, he is not only on the same page with Pat Shurmur, but they tend to be the same sentence.

Heckert tends to shy away from the media. He prefers to work behind the scenes.

Lombardi is very public relations savvy. He works for NFL.com and other media outlets. He's a regular on talk shows. He's engaging and entertaining.

While some of his harshest critics insist he's a disaster as an executive, I do believe Lombardi has some ability when it comes to scouting players.

But an upgrade over Heckert?

Hard to imagine why anyone would say that.