Cleveland Browns Did it Right

The Cleveland Browns played coy leading up to the NFL Draft. But when it came to making the pick, they made the right choice

Sports Day

Whew! The NFL Draft has finally begun. The drama filled soap opera that has been the Cleveland Brown’s lead up to the draft has finally climaxed. Analysts and fans alike knew the Browns were in the best position to take a step forward in the 2017–18 NFL season. However in the back of our minds, we all worried the Browns would mess up again. But after declaring they would choose Myles Garrett as the No. 1 pick, the story was clearer: the Browns can do it right.

The Cleveland Browns have been the picture of ineptitude for some time now, especially over the past decade. Since 2007, the time that covers their last three highly drafted quarterbacks, the Browns have failed to reach .500. Brady Quinn in 2007, Brandon Weeden in 2012, and lastly Johnny Football in 2014 were all drafted with the 22nd overall pick in their perspective drafts — which admittedly is a little spooky. What’s outright scary is the franchise’s record over the span that they covered: 48–112.

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After looking over the facts the Browns should take a quarterback, right? Absolutely not, and there’s a good reason why. There isn’t a surefire “franchise quarterback” in this particular draft (the Chicago Bears certainly thought so), and the Browns need all the help they can get on both sides of the ball. What also helped to facilitate this decision is Myles Garrett undoubtedly being the best player in this draft according to production, skills, athletic ability, and upside.

The critical issue with Mitchell Trubisky, Deshaun Watson, DeShone Kizer, and dark horses like Patrick Mahone and Davis Webb is that none of them are finished products. Trubisky only played 13 games in college, which is not nearly enough to take the risk at No. 1 (But at No. 2, why not!). Deshaun Watson and DeShone Kizer both have the athletic tools, but did not play in systems that gave coaches the belief that they can come in and run a team immediately. Both Webb and Mahomes have extreme arm talent but are extremely raw, as the football people would tell you. Don’t expect to find a ‘Dak Prescott’ in this draft, either.

For some reason Trubisky was immediately snatched up as the No. 2 pick by the Chicago Bears, a move that is beyond confusing and deserves it’s own shaming. The move, however, left analysts and Browns fans with a clear mind. Although the top ranked QB is off the board, the Browns made the right subsequent choices by taking Jabrill Peppers and David Njoku later in the first round.

The Browns approached this the right way. Yes, I said it, the CLEVELAND BROWNS DID SOMETHING RIGHT! Perhaps, this is a sign that the new management in place is finally paying its dividends. Perhaps they made all the wrong choices. Perhaps this entire experiment will utterly fail. No matter what the future has in store for the Browns they did the right thing, and will be a lot better for it.