Mike Holmgren got it right Saturday in his recap of the Browns draft, the first with him in charge.

“We will know in three years,” he said. “We are excited about it, though. I think it was good, but they have to come in and play.”

Holmgren, team president, relayed a story from his years as coach in Green Bay to illustrate his point. One of the local writers gave the draft a D in the immediate aftermath, only for the Packers to win the Super Bowl four years later with five starters from that draft class.

I agree wholeheartedly with Holmgren on this point, but three days and eight draft choices provided plenty of information.

We know …

 The secondary got better — and it needed to.

Cornerback Brandon McDonald was benched multiple times last season. Mike Adams started at safety and cornerback, even though he’s better suited as a nickelback. Receiver Mike Furrey played extensively at safety.

The Browns felt they had to do something, and they didn’t disappoint.

They took Florida cornerback Joe Haden with the seventh pick of the draft, then jumped on Oregon safety T.J. Ward at No. 38. He was the choice over USC’s Taylor Mays, who’s got more name recognition and all the measurables, but isn’t instinctive and doesn’t tackle particularly well.

The Browns weren’t done, grabbing Nebraska safety Larry Asante in the fifth round. Veteran cornerback Sheldon Brown was added in an offseason trade, so the Browns could have three new pieces — Haden, Ward and Brown — in their five-man nickel package, joining Eric Wright and Abram Elam.

There’s no guarantee Haden or Ward will be an All-Pro or a longtime starter, but it’s hard to imagine the Cleveland secondary being any worse than it was last year, when the Browns ranked 29th against the pass and totaled just 10 interceptions, also 29th in the NFL.

And if the scouting reports are correct, the secondary will be more physical with better tacklers. Haden had 218 tackles in three years at Florida and played like he wasn’t afraid to help out in the running game — still a weakness for Wright. Ward and Asante have reputations as big hitters who are better in the box than deep in coverage.

 The Browns won’t abandon the running game and become Air Mangini.

We already suspected this, because Eric Mangini is still the head coach and Brian Daboll is still the offensive coordinator. But the notion was reinforced with the selection of Tennessee running back Montario Hardesty in the second round.

The Browns, who won four straight to finish 2009 by pounding the ball and all but abandoning the pass, gave up two fifth-round picks to move up 12 spots to No. 59 to ensure Hardesty was still available.

He’s 5-foot-11½ and 225 pounds with the reputation of a bruiser. He was limited by a string of injuries his first three years at Tennessee, but started all 13 games in 2009, rushing for 1,345 yards and 13 touchdowns.

He has the chance to come in and start, or at least be a necessary complement to slasher Jerome Harrison. The Browns also acquired fullback/tailback Peyton Hillis from Denver in the Brady Quinn trade, giving Daboll a stable of backs around which to build his game plans.

Just as telling was how Holmgren and general manager Tom Heckert handled the receiver position in the offseason. Not only did they fail to sign an established free agent, they didn’t draft one until Carlton Mitchell in the sixth round. By then, the Browns had taken Hardesty and Arizona State offensive lineman Shawn Lauvao — two players with the potential to immediately help the running game.

Holmgren said a veteran receiver could still be signed, but he won’t have the impact of a marquee free agent or top draft pick. This reaffirms Holmgren’s insistence that Mangini and Daboll will coach the team and run the offense, and that Holmgren and Gil Haskell, his adviser and longtime offensive coordinator, won’t hijack the offense and turn it into their preferred West Coast attack.

 Toughness ruled the weekend.

Heckert opened just about every news conference from Thursday through Saturday in the same way. “We think he’s a really, really good player and we like his toughness,” he repeated.

Starting with Haden, the Browns made a concerted effort to get tougher. Last year, Mangini’s draft focus was intelligence. This year, it was tough.

For a team committed to running the ball and playing good defense, finesse isn’t an option — especially in a division with the Steelers and Ravens. Even the Bengals were substance over style on their way to the AFC North title last year.

Haden and Ward were the first defensive backs taken in the first two rounds by the Browns since safeties Don Rogers and Chris Rockins in 1984. Both brought the lumber on playoff teams. The same was true of safety Eric Turner in the early 1990s.

The Browns haven’t had anyone since who could match their intimidation and heavy hitting, but that may be changing.

We think …
 The power trio is working well.

The draft was the first time the Holmgren-Heckert-Mangini team was on display for the public. They took turns sitting behind the microphone, often two at a time and finally all three after all eight picks – four on offense, four on defense – had been made.

The true test will come when adversity strikes, but the new organizational structure is designed for success. Holmgren is the face of the front office and deals with the big issues. Heckert evaluates talent, picks the players and sculpts the roster. Mangini tells both what type of player he wants, then runs the operation on the field.

Holmgren will always be at the forefront with his huge personality and Super Bowl history. As long as Mangini’s ego stays in check in his reduced role, the triumvirate has a chance to work.

Most impressive about the arrangement was the sense of order all weekend. The decisions were measured and the atmosphere calm. That hasn’t always been the case inside Browns headquarters.

Butch Davis audibled at the last second to take Gerard Warren over Richard Seymour in 2001, and general manager Phil Savage often operated independently of coach Romeo Crennel on draft day, then complained about the way Crennel used the players.

It’s still early, but the new powers that be seem headed down a different path.

 The team will be better.

Five wins isn’t setting the bar very high, but with more than four months left before the opener, there’s reason to think the Browns will be improved in 2010. They’ve addressed many of their glaring needs and added necessary depth across the roster.

If Jake Delhomme is an upgrade over Brady Quinn and Derek Anderson at quarterback, a seven- or eight-win season seems realistic.

 Colt McCoy will sit for much of 2010.

Holmgren was adamant that the third-round pick will watch from the sideline for the season. The concept is solid, and with Delhomme and Seneca Wallace, there’s no need to rush McCoy.

He will open the season as the third quarterback and learn without the early pressure that’s scarred so many before him. But the season is a long one and no one can predict what will happen. McCoy could very well sneak onto the field at the end to get his feet wet, or be forced onto it by injuries.

We don’t know …

 If the draft is a good one.

Check back in two years to see if Haden was fast enough to cover, Ward and Hardesty could stay healthy and Lauvao was able to step into a starting guard spot. That will go a long way in determining the success of the 2010 draft.

But the biggest variable is McCoy.

If he becomes the next Joe Montana or Drew Brees, the draft will be a home run regardless of what any of the other picks become. If he’s a starter for five or six years and takes the team to multiple playoffs, that works, too. If he’s the next Charlie Frye, Holmgren better find a quarterback somewhere else down the line.

Although we agree with Holmgren’s premise, we don’t have three years to wait to grade the draft. We give it a solid B.

Contact Scott Petrak at (440) 329-7253 or spetrak@chroniclet.com.

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