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John, Please Don't Mess This Up...



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John, PLEASE DON'T MESS THIS UP!

On Thursday Night, The Cleveland Browns new brain trust of John Dorsey, Alonzo Highsmith, and Eliot Wolf will attempt to right the ship that is the forgettable previous two seasons on Lake Erie. The NFL Draft is set to open on Thursday, at 8:00 PM EST, In Jerry World, and no team has more control at the top like Cleveland does. With the 1st and 4th picks (and three second round picks) the Browns are armed to change the plethora of negative narratives around their franchise.


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The Big Four QB’s ...


Sam Darnold, QB, USC, career stats: 549 comp/ 849 att (64.9%), 7229 yds, 57 TD’s/ 22 INT’s.


Darnold is the quintessential QB prospect most teams covet. He’s an intelligent, accurate, and poised pocket passer who possesses the good character you want in your franchise Quarterback. His numbers did decline slightly after throwing 31 TD’s: 9 INT’s his redshirt freshman year, he threw 26 TD’s to 13 INT’s his Sophomore year. Darnold has worked with former QB and current quarterback guru, Jordan Palmer, on the finer points of quarterbacking. He’s viewed by most as the top QB in this class and is the prospect with the fewest red flags. Some however question his ability to lead a team citing his boring, quiet personality as a potential concern, however I don’t believe this will be an issue.


Josh Allen, QB, Wyoming, career stats: 365 comp/ 649 att (56.2%), 5,006 yds, 44 TD’s/ 21 INT’s.


Allen has the ideal body for a franchise quarterback (6’5 223), coupled with a rocket for an arm. Allen played for an FCS team just like Carson Wentz at NDSU, however, unlike Wentz, he did not dominate, nor did he ever win an FCS championship. Like Darnold, he has also worked with QB guru, Jordan Palmer, on his footwork and poor accuracy this offseason. Allen is high-risk/high reward, though, I can’t see Cleveland selecting someone so high that is so similar to a player they just released (DeShone Kizer).

Josh Rosen, QB, UCLA, career stats: 712 comp/ 1170 att (60.9%), 9,340 yds, 59 TD’s/ 26 INT’s.


Rosen is a poised, confident, smooth passer, he also has many red flags to go along with those shimmering attributes. Scouts are concerned he didn’t get along with his coaches because of how arrogant he comes across to others and question how much he truly loves football. He’s been compared to Aaron Rodgers because of the moxie and confidence he plays with. Rosen is the most pro-ready prospect as long as he stays healthy which he had problems with in college where he missed significant time with injuries to his shoulder, knee, and concussions. The Browns have to weigh if they can handle someone who speaks their mind as often and in the fashion that Rosen does.


Baker Mayfield, QB, Oklahoma, career stats: 1,026 comp/ 1,497 (68.5%), 14,607 yds, 131 TD’s/ 30 INT’s.


Baker Mayfield, championships aside, is among the most decorated Quarterbacks in college football history. He has the accuracy, escapability, and poise that teams look for in a Quarterback, he also has many red flags. Scouts compare his playing style to the likes of Russell Wilson, Drew Brees, and Johnny Manziel partly due to the lack of physical stature (Mayfield is around 6’0 like those mentioned previously). Manziel is a more popular comparison because of the similarity in their personalities. Both have been caught doing "reckless things" in public (public intoxication), however, Mayfield hasn’t been a repeat offender off-field thus far. The Air Raid is the offensive system Mayfield played under in college. It’s been heavily scrutinized over years for not properly preparing college quarterbacks for the NFL because of the simplistic throws and easy reads.


The Immaculate Selection…


I was listening to the Dawgs By Nature podcast on SBNation, and one of the personalities mentioned how he’d rather the Browns took Saquan Barkley or Bradley Chubb as opposed to Josh Allen. I completely agree with this line of thinking and I really hope the Browns don’t decide to take Allen. Teams so often fall into this trap of drafting a quarterback based almost solely on his physical attributes rather than his college career, tape, and intangibles. Yes, it’s true that you can’t teach size but can you really teach someone accuracy or decision making? Teams often draft incomplete quarterbacks way too high in the draft with the idea that they’ll "sit and develop him for a year or two." THIS ALMOST NEVER HAPPENS! They almost always end up replacing whatever journeyman quarterback the franchise signed or traded for to "keep the seat warm" mere weeks into the season. Maybe it’s due to impatience or pressure from the owner but far too often teams rush these player’s onto the field and contradict everything they’ve tried to sell the media for the past 6-8 months.


So, John Dorsey, I plead to you, PLEASE DRAFT SAM DARNOLD! Darnold has the highest upside, no red flags off the field, great work ethic, above average arm, good touch, and the ability to read the field. He has some mechanical flaws he needs to work on but he has the things you can’t teach. I wouldn’t be upset with Rosen either but Allen has those Jamarcus Russell qualities that scare me away. The great thing about drafting Darnold or Rosen is the having the peace of mind that you don’t have to rush them out onto the field. With Tyrod Taylor in place they have an experienced veteran who led his team to the playoffs last season and is capable of doing it again.



The Outline…

After a huge offseason of trades and signings, I think a good draft could make things in Cleveland interesting (Said every Browns fan ever only to retract that statement 2 weeks into the season).


Here’s how they can get good players while simultaneously filling holes.


#1. Sam Darnold (but as I said I wouldn’t be terribly upset with Rosen)


#4. Denzel Ward or Best Player Available (Bradley Chubb if the Giants don't take him)


#33. Derrius Guice (If they didn’t draft Barkley)


#35. Billy Price (and kick Joel Bitonio out to Left Tackle)


#64. Best Lineman or Cornerback available (They could also trade down and acquire more assets)



The Roster as a Whole…


If John Dorsey can find three impact players and a few starting caliber players the outlook on this team could look very different in a hurry. Here’s what the starting team could look like with my scenario coming to fruition:


Projected Starting Offense


QB: Tyrod Taylor (With Darnold waiting in the wings)


RB: Derrius Guice/Duke Johnson


FB: Carlos Hyde


WR: Josh Gordon


WR: Jarvis Landry


WR: Corey Coleman


TE: David Njoku

LT: Joel Bitonio


LG: Billy Price


C: J.C. Tretter


RG: Kevin Zeitler


RT: Chris Hubbard


Projected Starting Defense


DE: Myles Garrett


DT: Jamie Meder


DT: Larry Ogunjobi


DE: Emmanuel Ogbah


LB: Jamie Collins


LB: Joe Schobert


LB: Christian Kirksey


NCB: Briean Boddy-Calhoun


CB: Denzel Ward


CB: Jamar Taylor


S: Damarious Randall


S: Jabrill Peppers


Conclusion…


This is the most important draft the Browns have had or will have since they came back to the league in 1999. Dorsey needs to nail these two picks or die trying because quite frankly I’m not sure how much longer fans are going to wait around to watch an even average team. Thursday Night will tell us a lot about the direction the team is heading toward but we won’t know if "we won the draft" until the team is on the field playing.



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