Division championships aren't won in March, and talented defensive linemen are not dangled in trade without eyebrows being arched, but the Browns have to be the early favorites to capture the AFC North for the first time in their history after Friday's acquisitions of Corey Williams and Shaun Rogers.

Early on Friday, general manager Phil Savage traded a second-round pick to Green Bay for Williams, who will play defensive end in Cleveland's 3-4 defense. Later in the evening, after a reported Bengals trade for Rogers fell through, Savage dealt a third-round pick and CB Leigh Bodden to Detroit for the 6-4, 340-pound lineman. Rogers figures to be the Browns' starting nose tackle.

The Browns won 10 games a season ago in spite of a defense that allowed more yards than all but two clubs and had its problems stopping the run and the pass. Any defensive improvement will give the Browns' potent offense more of a margin for error. Four of Cleveland's six losses in 2007 were by six points or fewer, and each was marked by mistake-laden play from QB Derek Anderson.

Was trading for Williams and Rogers risky? Yes. Williams, whom the Browns reportedly signed to a six-year, $38 million contract, had seven sacks in each of the last two seasons, but the Packers selected to sell high. Hmmm. And the Lions — not short on defensive problems of their own — were desperately trying to trade Rogers before having to pay him a $1 million roster bonus on Saturday. The Browns now have no picks in the first three rounds of April's draft. Their first-rounder went to Dallas in the Brady Quinn trade.

But the bigger risk for the Browns would have been to make only minor changes to the line — a veteran free agent here, a rookie or two there. Savage and the Browns' scouts looked at the D-linemen likely to be available when the Browns were picking in Round Two and cringed. "I was not comfortable at all that we were going to find a defensive lineman in that realm of the draft," he said.

Hence the deal for Williams. And, later, the trade for Rogers.

Look around the AFC North. The Steelers are going to lose OLG Alan Faneca, likely to the Jets. The Ravens don't have the salary-cap space to be major free-agent players and are hoping to coax one more year out of Steve McNair, 35, at quarterback. The Bengals let underappreciated S Madieu Williams walk and will have to replace steady DE Justin Smith, who reportedly will sign with San Francisco. Their plans to improve their defense remain largely a mystery — and took a major hit when they couldn't close the deal for Rogers.

The Browns spent Friday addressing their most glaring need. The payoff could be spectacular. The downside risk can't be ignored, but it can be swallowed without much discomfort, considering where the Browns have been and where they want to go.