So What If the Cleveland Browns Lost Out on QB Robert Griffin III?
With the Washington Redskins’ trade for the St. Louis Rams’ second overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, Washington has finally secured the chance to select quarterback Robert Griffin III. With that news, Browns fans have been split in their opinions.
Yes, the Redskins are going to get Griffin III. It certainly came at a price, though.
In the deal, Washington handed over their first-round and second-round picks in 2012 , along with their first-round picks in 2013 and 2014. To say the Rams got a great deal is major understatement.
Yet, knowing what it took to secure the No. 2 pick, many Browns fans still feel irked by the notion that the Browns were not able to pull it off themselves. Surely it must be because of a misplaced notion that the Browns’ front office, like a character in a romantic movie, must make a grand gesture to prove their love and commitment to the team.
While the Browns certainly tried to make a deal, they must now live with the fact that the No. 4 pick will likely bring wide receiver Justin Blackmon, running back Trent Richardson, or even more picks as a result of trading down.
Even while Browns fans stew in their own disappointment in the aftermath of the Redskins-Rams deal, one must still look at what it took to make it happen. That is three first-round picks – three – for the rights to one player. For a team like the Browns, every pick is needed in the rebuilding process. While Griffin III could potentially develop into a franchise quarterback, it seems almost unfathomable that it could happen in Cleveland without the picks that would be used to support him.
At the end of the day, the Browns keep their picks (three of the first 37) and can continue to build upon recent success in the draft. The Browns lost out on the likely painful ride of high expectations and potentially crushing disappointment of drafting Robert Griffin III, so what’s there to be upset about?