Now starts the fun part.
The interesting part.
The important part.
It is the part that will chart the course for the Browns going forward.
Indeed, as Super Bowl week begins, so does the Browns’ evaluation of the top players available in the 2018 NFL Draft. Foremost among those players, of course, are the quarterbacks.
The Browns can pick great players here, there and everywhere. They can hit the jackpot.
But as good as those other selections may turn out to be, the Browns will never, ever get to where they ultimately want to go – to the Super Bowl, and winning it; what else would they be playing for? – unless they get that franchise quarterback.
Yeah, sure, they need the bridge quarterback until the franchise guy is ready, and I would be stunned if that guy were not Alex Smith. But that bridge quarterback is like an opening act. The star of the show – the player around whom the team will be built, the man who will be the face of the franchise – is, appropriately so, the franchise guy.
But what is his name? Actually, what is his name this year, as the Browns have picked their supposed franchise quarterback any number of times without success?
If General Manager John Dorsey swings and misses on his chance to find the guy, then he will be out of a job, too, just like Sashi Brown, Joe Banner/Mike Lombardi, etc., etc., etc.
To figure out who that franchise quarterback is, or could be, we need to lock in on Dorey and try to think how he does, try to find what characteristics he values. That’s easier said than done. It’s a poker game, and those sitting around the table aren’t about to show their hand – not even a little bit, at least not knowingly.
But if you look hard enough and long enough, those clues will turn up.
They always do.
So let’s get ready to do our best Sherlock Holmes imitation.
