By SCOTT PETRAK

Staff Writer

BEREA — Phil Savage could only sit still for so long.

After watching the NFL Draft as a bystander for three rounds, the Browns general manager thrust himself back into the action Sunday with a pair of trades near the top of the fourth round. Savage used the picks on UNLV linebacker Beau Bell (No. 104 overall) and Missouri tight end Martin Rucker (111).

The Browns made another trade in the sixth round, giving them consecutive picks. They used No. 190 overall on Iowa State nose tackle Ahtyba Rubin, then took Wisconsin receiver Paul Hubbard at 191.

The first pick was acquired last year from Seattle for quarterback Charlie Frye. The Browns originally sent 191 to Philadelphia for center Hank Fraley, but got it back Sunday for a fifth-rounder in 2009. In the seventh round, they took developmental pass rusher Alex Hall, a defensive end from Division II St. Augustine’s.

Both trades in the fourth round were with the Dallas Cowboys, who’ve been trade partners with Cleveland four times in the last two drafts. The Browns took quarterback Brady Quinn and cornerback Eric Wright, a teammate of Bell’s at UNLV, last year after deals with Dallas.

In order to move up 18 spots to take Bell, the Browns gave up their fourth-round (122) and fifth-round (155) picks. They gave the Cowboys their third-round pick in 2009 for the chance to take Rucker.

“It does seem to be a league where teams are willing to consider trades,” said Savage, who previously traded away his first three picks. “People realize we’ll jump around on draft day and even in the offseason.”

Savage was anxious to make the moves for a couple of reasons. The Browns had rated Bell and Rucker as second-round picks, and the scouting staff had spent so much time studying players who might be available in the fourth round he wanted to take advantage and select two.

Bell, whose name is James Beaumont Bell, is 6-foot-1¼ and 244 pounds. He made 26 starts in 41 games, totaling 320 tackles, mostly as a weakside outside linebacker in a 4-3 scheme. He’ll step in on special teams immediately and compete with D’Qwell Jackson, Leon Williams and Andra Davis for playing time at 3-4 inside linebacker.

“He’s going to bring a physical presence to our special teams that we needed,” Savage said. “This kid is kind of a hammer-type hitter. He really knows how to finish. He brings some explosion at the end of plays.”

Rucker (6-4 7/8, 251) was a prolific pass catcher at Missouri, the alma mater of Kellen Winslow Sr. Now he’ll join Kellen Winslow Jr., who he resembled in highlights and his conference call with Cleveland media.

Rucker started all of his 50 games with 203 catches, 2,175 yards and 18 touchdowns. He caught 84 passes in 2007 for 834 yards and eight touchdowns.

“I envisioned Martin Rucker going down the seam opposite of Kellen Winslow,” Savage said. “He’s an imposing, physical mismatch type of player because of his size and catching ability.”

When NFL Network discussed Rucker, it listed good hands and route-running as strengths. For a negative, it read: Never blocks a sole (sic).

“Of course you have to block,” Rucker said on a conference call, as his family screamed in the background because his highlights were being shown on TV. “It’s football.

“I’m not worried about that. I’m eager to get there and prove to everybody that I can.”

The Browns were expected to use their first picks to address pressing needs at cornerback and pass-rushing linebacker. But the pickings were slim and Savage had Bell and Rucker rated too high to pass up — despite Bell’s difficult offseason.

He bruised his knee on the first day of Senior Bowl practices, missed the rest of the week and didn’t recover in time for the scouting combine. When he ran a 4.9-second 40-yard dash at his pro day, some teams were scared away.

“I’m glad it happened,” Bell, who normally runs in the 4.7s, said on a conference call. “If it didn’t happen, I wouldn’t be a Cleveland Brown right now.”

Petrak may be reached at spetrak@chroniclet.com or 440-329-7136.