Plus: the Final Four, Snapchat's new feature, and boy-band idols in today's newsletter.

View in your browser Share | Subscribe In the April 1 newsletter, Robert Mays examines the Browns’ draft strategy, Jonathan Tjarks celebrates smart backcourts in the Final Four, and Molly McHugh keeps her Snapstreaks alive. Getty Images This Is Your Pre-draft Reminder That the Browns Need Way, Way More Than Just a Quarterback By Robert Mays Once again, a quarterback-shaped cloud hangs over Cleveland's offseason. The Browns may believe that the recently signed Robert Griffin III can be a short-term solution, or they might try to further bolster the roster by taking a quarterback second overall in April’s NFL draft, but they’ll continue to face the same long-term QB questions that have plagued the franchise for 17 years. For Cleveland’s new Harvard-educated brain trust (executive VP of football operations Sashi Brown, VP of personnel Andrew Berry, and chief strategy officer/Jonah Hill denier Paul DePodesta), however, quarterback is just one shaky spot on a roster in need of wholesale change. The Browns are the blankest canvas a front office could have this side of an expansion team. Cleveland has plenty of glaring needs, but none greater than wide receiver. At the NFL owners’ meetings last week, new Browns head coach Hue Jackson actually said, “It’s an area we need to address, obviously.” That honesty is comforting; it’s also grim as hell. Even if the NFL honors Josh Gordon’s reinstatement request — cue the collective finger-crossing — Cleveland will still need another receiver. Jackson noted that he prefers taller options, and while current Browns Andrew Hawkins and Taylor Gabriel have utility, they’re small enough to work in the Keebler tree. No receiver in this draft class is worthy of the no. 2 pick, but a couple who fit Jackson’s preferred mold may be around when the Browns draft next, at 32: TCU’s Josh Doctson is speedy, 6-foot-2, and capable of some Cirque du Soleil stuff on jump balls down the sideline; and though Michael Thomas’s footwork and route running could use some work, the Ohio State product is certainly built like Jackson’s ideal wideout. It’d be nice if Cleveland’s problems ended there, but you already know that they don’t. This spring’s free-agent exodus downgraded the Browns’ offensive line from one of the league’s best 18 months ago to Joe Thomas, Joel Bitonio, and Yeah? Ya sure? Meanwhile, Cleveland’s other line has needed fixing for longer than one offseason. In 2014, the Browns finished 31st in run-defense DVOA; last year, they jumped all the way to 26th. Little victories, I guess. Nose tackle Danny Shelton, last year’s first-round pick, was brought in to help the hunt, but the Browns are still desperate for more talent in the front seven, with a solid run defense remaining their white whale. John Hughes may be responsible for some of my favorite cinematic moments, but I’m not sold on him as a starting defensive end. Ex-Jets linebacker Demario Davis, Cleveland’s 2016 version of a free-agent splash ($4.2 million guaranteed!), is a start, but adding an offense-shredding behemoth like Oregon’s DeForest Buckner in the draft certainly wouldn’t hurt. After a 3-13 campaign and tumultuous offseason, Cleveland is starving for a solid haul. No team’s draft futility has matched the Browns’ the past five years; whiffing on guys like Phil Taylor, Greg Little, Trent Richardson, Brandon Weeden, Barkevious Mingo, Justin Gilbert, and Johnny Manziel put the team in this mess. So, yes, finding a quarterback will be the first step, as it is for any franchise. But for the Browns, it’ll be far from the last. Getty Images In the Final Four, Two Point Guards Are Better Than One By Jonathan Tjarks The two-point-guard lineup has been the most consequential strategic development of the NCAA tournament. Three of the Final Four teams — North Carolina, Villanova, and Oklahoma — start a pair of point guards each, as did two losing Elite Eight teams, Notre Dame and Kansas. College coaches are spreading the floor and playing multiple ball handlers at the same time. The point guard is the coach on the floor, and the only thing better than having one out there is having two. That’s especially important in a one-and-done tournament, when teams have to radically alter game plans not only between games but during them. We’ve seen poor backcourt decision-making be the downfall of a number of teams over the past few weeks. This happened to Virginia in the Elite Eight when it blew a 15-point second-half lead over Syracuse after the Orange switched to a full-court press. Poor execution hastened Miami’s Sweet 16 exit against Villanova, when the Hurricanes guards repeatedly tried to dribble through the Nova zone, taking contested jumpers off the dribble instead of moving the ball. Smart guard play is why Oklahoma and Villanova are in Houston this weekend. Those two teams feature backcourts that protect the ball and get it to their stars — Buddy Hield for OU, Kris Jenkins for Villanova — in the right places. You hear a lot about small backcourts getting bullied in the pros, but the defensive risks in the college game aren’t as great because there are fewer skilled, athletic wings who can take advantage of a size mismatch. Among the Final Four teams, Syracuse is the one club bucking the trend. DraftExpress doesn't project Michael Gbinije (6-foot-7) or Malachi Richardson (6-foot-6) as first-rounders, but their length, athleticism, shooting, and playmaking have propelled Cuse to Houston, and those traits will get both players at least a shot at the next level. The question that Roy Williams and North Carolina will have to answer on Saturday is whether point guards Joel Berry II and Marcus Paige can guard Syracuse’s 3-and-D wings. Williams may opt for a more NBA-style lineup, with Theo Pinson (6-foot-6) at 2-guard. This could be the decisive matchup question of the weekend, and the one that will determine which team goes to the title game. ABC Former Boy-Band Members Will Protect Us From the Zombie Apocalypse By Allison P. Davis What is former Backstreet Boy Nick Carter up to? Funny you should ask! He just pulled a Captain Planet and assembled a team of fellow boy-band alums to appear in a movie he cowrote for SyFy. It is a Western zombie B-horror movie called Dead 7; it premieres tonight; and if you didn’t have a Joey Fatone poster hanging over your bed in 1998, you probably should not watch it. But for those of you who are still interested in aging boy-band idols, here is a ranking of their performances: 10. Jacob Underwood, O-Town: His white-man dreads made him the most memorable O-Townie, but they could not help his cameo. (I had to rewind to find him.) 9. Chris Kirkpatrick, ’N SYNC: Not great, but to his credit, his small-town sheriff was the hardest role in the film. He had a lot of lines, and he had to be believable while getting his eye ripped out. 8. Dan Miller, O-Town: Was this guy really in O-Town? I’m not even sure he was in this movie, but IMDb insists he was. 7. Erik-Michael Estrada, O-Town: Better than Justin Timberlake in The Social Network; not as good as Justin Timberlake in In Time. 6. Jeff Timmons, 98 Degrees: It was like he walked out of a Florida CrossFit and into this movie. Points for consistency! 5. Nick Carter, BSB: Listen, he’s no Daryl Dixon, but the man looks good in Western wear. 4. Howie Dorough, BSB: Is there anyone on this planet who wouldn’t say, “You know, I guess I sort of like Howie D”? You can’t teach that kind of charisma. 3. Joey Fatone, ’N SYNC: I had the highest hopes for the hammiest member of ’N SYNC, and I wasn’t disappointed. A handlebar mustache, a leather blazer, and an alcohol problem — Fatone sold it all. 2. “In the End,” Dead 7 soundtrack: The boys recorded one song together, and the vibe is sort of Linkin Park moody with multipart harmonies. I was moved. 1. A.J. McLean, BSB: I have never seen an actor more dedicated to Juggalo face paint, a Kevin Spacey–level bad Southern accent, and a high-pitched giggle. MVP by a long shot.

Keith Olbermann

Bill Simmons welcomes Keith Olbermann to discuss "the never-ending state of stupidity" in American politics, how to fix SportsCenter, and more.

NFL Draft Podcast

Robert Mays and Mallory Rubin launch the one-stop shop for all things NFL draft with a breakdown of Jared Goff vs. Carson Wentz and more. Al Drago / Getty Images Major Hourglass: Please Welcome Snapchat’s Newest Essential Emoji By Molly McHugh Snapchat’s last mega-update, in April 2015, signaled how completely it just gets emoji. The new version ditched the feature that showed everyone which users you’ve snapped the most (RIP, but thank god you’re gone, friendship-ruiner) and replaced it with an emoji code. The gold heart means best friends; the smirk means you’re their best friend but they’re not yours. But the most important is fire. Fire means you’re on a Snapstreak — that your snapping is consistent and good and true, as is your relationship. Snapstreaks are as real as it gets. But if you and your partner don’t snap each other for 24 hours, it’s all over and you may as well end things immediately. You’ve been party to the heartbreaking end of a Snapstreak, left questioning the friendship — or, worse yet, guiltily realizing that you were responsible for the death of the streak. The hours had ticked by, and you, ignorant of the time, let that snap sit and the streak die. But no more. A new emoji has been introduced to the Snapchat code: the hourglass. It indicates that your streak is close to ending and you need to send a snap to keep it alive. It is a stressful and useful tool, and it’s also bound to have an effect on the emoji outside Snapchat. The platform’s pervasive use of emoji has transcended its own app — witness DJ Khaled’s Snapchat use of the key emoji, which has been transformed across the social web. The is so, so much more than a key. Already, Emojipedia has updated its definition of the hourglass to include its new meaning. Whereas once it represented the passage of time, now it’s more loaded. Consider for all future subtweets.

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