For the second straight year, the current Browns front office is set to observe the team face a rookie quarterback upon whom it passed in that year’s draft. After Carson Wentz and Dak Prescott faced the Browns last season, Deshaun Watson will match up against the team he was often linked to in the pre-draft process.
But the Browns evidently had a multi-layered thought process behind moving past Watson, with Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com reporting the team had Mitch Trubisky, Patrick Mahomes and Watson as their top three quarterbacks and likely in that order.
The Browns also bypassed Watson with their No. 12 pick in order to pick up a future 2018 first-rounder — their second high-2018 draft choice acquired from the Texans this spring — because of what’s being viewed as a superior class of quarterbacks likely set to be draft-eligible, Cabot reports. With two first-round picks and three second-rounders next year, the Browns would like to be “well-positioned” to draft a quarterback in the event DeShone Kizer is not their long-term solution. Considering Kizer was just benched for what Cabot notes will likely be for at least three games through the team’s Week 9 bye, that clock is ticking.
Cleveland may well have taken Mahomes, who had a private workout with the Browns before visiting the team in April, had the Chiefs not traded up to No. 10 and selected him, Cabot notes. Kansas City’s brass obviously shared the Mahomes-over-Watson line of thinking. The longtime Browns reporter adds some in the front office did want to draft Trubisky No. 1 overall, leading to “heated debates” before Hue Jackson and Gregg Williams‘ preferred player, Myles Garrett, went to Cleveland at No. 1 overall.
Jackson declined to say this week if he advocated for Watson, who has accounted for 10 touchdowns the past two weeks. The second-year coach also declined to speculate whether coaching Watson in January would have endeared him more to the team.
The Browns not viewing Wentz or Watson as the kind of game-changer they coveted is being scrutinized now that Kizer has been benched for 2016 practice squad signee Kevin Hogan, who has outperformed the second-round pick when summoned this season.
Viewing this demotion as a “temporary timeout,” Jackson anticipates returning to Kizer this season. The Browns are planning to obtain more evidence he’s the future to determine if the Notre Dame product is worthy of bypassing a signal-caller with all five of their 2018 first- or second-round picks.
The Browns need to Fire their Defacto GM Sashi Brown. They Draft Potential over Production. I knew Watson was the Best QB in the Draft and he proved it with the two games for the National Title against Alabama going 1-1. Saban was an NFL D-Coordinator and Head Coach. Saban has an NFL Style Defense. his Players are all over the league. Watson passes the Eye Test. Trubisky did not. Trubisky should have stayed in School. The last few games of his College Season he did not look good and made mistakes with games on the line. He did so again Monday night. I picked the Bears to win that game way before Trubisky was named the Starter. Because I do not trust the playcalling on Offense of one Putrid Pat Shurmur. Mahomes will be a Gem in K.C. even though the Conference he played in at Texas Tech is so QB Suspect. The Browns traded down in the draft the previous year. Then draft nothing but receivers. They sign Bargain basement free agents and don’t keep any real veterans around on offense. Such as Gary Barnidge who would have helped and John Greco. They should try Bitonio at RT. They pick up a Center from Green Bay who has little experience as a Starter. They routinely pass on in State Talent from Ohio State, or even some of the smaller schools like the MAC. I touted Kareem Hunt, I touted Pat Elflein. Hue has less talent on this team then he did on his Oakland team in 2011. I think the 76-77 Tampa Bay Bucs would fair well against this squad. The Browns have a Good defense with no offensive talent outside of Crowell, and Duke Johnson. Njoku made some plays last week. But that was why they should have kept Barnidge as at least a Security blanket and blocker. Sashi Brown paid too much attention to whatever advice he got from Ray Farmer who screwed up the Cleveland situation for any coach or GM that was following him because he made such a big mess of things. Alienated Potential Free Agents and Browns players in the locker Room. Schwartz is now in K.C. Mack is now in Atlanta and Shanahan is now a HC who was run out of town by Farmer. I would not have drafted Kizer either. The Browns were in positions to get guys like Ezekial Elliottt, Joey Bosa, Malik Hooker, Kareem Hunt, Deshaun Watson, etc. Even when Farmer was here he F’d up the drafts royally. Taking Justin I can’t tackle, cover or return very well Gilbert. The Browns in my opinion still need a Center, and a RT on the offensive line. They need to sign a WR with experience and could use another Running Back. I liked Kevin Hogan coming out of Stanford. Watson is going to prove on Sunday how badly the Browns need to get rid of Sashi and find someone like Bill Polian, Bobby Beathard or Scott McCloughan to run the team. McCoughan is available and has been successful. Yeah he has an alcohol issue. He is still more qualified then Sashi Brown by FAR.
You forgot they need to rid themselves of coach ego Jackson who is also part of the problem. He thinks he’s also a GM which his ability to draft talent and develop qbs is on par with with my grandmas ability to fly jets! He is part of the problem , not the solution and as soon as they cleanse franchise of this power hungry coordinator who is wearing the coaches hat and every decision maker the better they will be.
Ownership has destroyed football in this great sports city. It all starts with ownership and they have routinely made bad decisions. And until ownership is changed and the personnel then gets changed and the coaching staff then gets changed will Cleveland possibly get a winner.
So we are declaring Watson a franchise QB five games into his career? If you put Watson on this Browns team he would be awful. No one can create space or even catch a pass and the running game doesn’t exist because the secondary gives up so many points that the Browns are forced to throw the ball early on.
I hate how people think if you put Aaron Rodgers or Tom Brady on the Browns they would be fine. It’s a team sport and more than a dozen fine college QBs have been ruined by being thrown onto terrible teams.