This isn’t brain surgery.
We’re not splitting the atom here.
Indeed, it’s easy-peasy to figure out why the Browns are in the predicament they’re in, starting over yet again with a new regime after having finished 3-13 in 2015 for their eighth consecutive losing record.
It’s their performance — or, as it were, the lack thereof – in the NFL Draft.
In case any of us have forgotten – and I don’t see how that’s possible since it’s the elephant in the room you simply can’t ignore – it was shoved into our faces one more time with a video on Sports Illustrated’s website, si.com, entitled, “Is Manziel the biggest NFL draft bust ever?”
There have been a lot of draft busts by all teams, not just the Browns, in NFL history, so to ask the question if quarterback Johnny Manziel is the worst of the worst is numbing.
And telling.
But again, we didn’t need anyone to say that to us. We already knew all too well.
The Browns have had eight – yes, eight, count them, eight — first-round picks in the last five drafts dating back to 2011. Even if you went down to your neighborhood bookstand and purchased an NFL draft guide – any NFL draft guide – you could have found enough information in it to have hit on at least two of the picks. The odds are with you. They really are. You could even close your eyes and just pick guys and happen upon a few good players.
But apparently, the odds weren’t with the people making the draft selections for the Browns, such as Tom Heckert, Joe Banner/Mike Lombardi and Ray Farmer. There is no other conclusion that could be drawn by looking at the players the club selected under their combined stints:
*2011 — No. 21 overall – defensive lineman Phil Taylor.
*2012 — No. 3 overall – running back Trent Richardson; No. 22 – quarterback Brandon Weeden.
*2013 – No. 6 overall – linebacker Barkevious Mingo.
*2014 – No. 8 overall – cornerback Justin Gilbert; No. 22 overall – Manziel.
*2015 – No. 12 overall – defensive lineman Danny Shelton; No. 19 overall – offensive lineman Cameron Erving.
Please excuse me if you’re eating and reading this at the same time.
Considering the number of first-round picks they had, with three of the eight being in the top eight overall in their respective drafts, the Browns had a chance to really set themselves up for years to come. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what they did – but obviously not in a positive way. It has not just set the franchise back, but rather it has hurled it into a cavernous hole, the likes of which the Browns have never seen.
Thus, the bar has, in essence, been set quite low for the members of the current regime. If they’re just moderately lousy this year, then they will have leapfrogged with ease the cumulative effort of the last five drafts. But they must do more – much more – than that if they ever want to get this thing straightened out.
So as the draft fast approaches – it’s now just 10 days away – and the Browns, sitting at No. 2 overall, try to figure out what to do, they have several different options.
They can stay right where they’re at and take a quarterback, which is what I want them to do – desperately so.
They can stay right where they’re at and take a player at another position.
They can trade out of that spot so as to collect more picks, and then use their first choice, wherever it is, to take a quarterback.
Or they can trade out of that spot so as to collect more picks, and then use their first choice, wherever it is, to take a player at another position.
We have no idea what they’ll end up doing.
But this much the Browns’ draft guys must know: Whatever they choose to do, they absolutely have to get it right. They can’t just hit the target. They have to hit it squarely in the middle, for this first draft will go a long way toward ultimately defining their tenure. You never get a second chance to make a first impression.
If the Browns’ draft guys don’t do this – if they mess it all up – then the same fate that befell the aforementioned draft chiefs will also befell them and they will end up losing their jobs.
And if they mess it up really bad, then perhaps si.com will wonder if one of their picks is the worst NFL draft bust ever.
I don’t expect that to happen — actually, as I’ve said before any number of times, I expect just the opposite – but with what has happened here recently, you certainly can’t blame Browns fans if they’re more than just a little nervous,
