JUST COMMON SENSE

By STEVE KING

Instead of being like the members of the previous regime and trying to re-invent the wheel and prove to everybody in the room that they were the smartest people there, Browns General Manager John Dorsey continues to do things that make total sense.

Imagine that? Are you listening, Sashi Brown?

Dorsey on Friday made a trade with the New York Giants that checks all the boxes for Cleveland’s needs, giving up guard Kevin Zeitler in exchange for one of the best edge rushers in the game in linebacker Olivier Vernon.

The trade also allows offensive lineman Austin Corbett, a quasi-first-round choice in the 2018 NFL Draft at No. 33 overall, a long overdue chance to finally get onto the field, likely at the right guard spot vacated by Zeitler.

That Corbett did not play last season is the only part of last year’s draft that I didn’t like. If you’re going to take a player with the first pick of the second round, he absolutely has to play right away. There are no ifs, ands buts about it. This isn’t the NFL of 25 years ago in that you can draft a player and let him sit, watch and learn for a year or two. There is now an immediacy aspect to all this, including for eve quarterbacks. The learning is done on the field. Period. End of statement.

So what happens if Corbett can’t do the job and is a bust? Obviously, it would not be good. It would be the first significant black mark on the Cleveland portion of Dorsey’s NFL resume.

In the meantime, while we’re waiting to see how all that plays out, let’s focus on the addition of Vernon. The worst part of the Browns defense last season is that it didn’t get after the quarterback with any regularity. That should change with Vernon.

All in all, then it’s a good if not great start to the offseason. The Browns are better now than they were entering Friday morning.