NFL Draft 2015: Cleveland Browns putting foundation in place
By Thomas Moore
Oct 12, 2013; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Stanford Cardinal quarterback Kevin Hogan (8) fumbles as he is hit by Utah Utes defensive end Nate Orchard (8) during the second half at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Utah defeated Stanford 27-21. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports
There is little doubt that Farmer did solid work over the weekend. He made a few months, but didn’t mortgage the future, and overall you can see why the team chose the players they did. And that is not something you can say every year about the Browns and the draft.
“(You have to) give guys an opportunity to demonstrate they can either play or they’re going to fail.” – Ray Farmer
The biggest hole on the remains, as it has for far too many years, the quarterback position, which Farmer was unable or unwilling to do anything about in this year’s draft.
But the Browns were not alone in that regard, as only seven quarterbacks were selected, the lowest number since 1955. So it is not as if the Browns were sitting idly by while there was a run by the other 31 teams on quarterbacks.
Would it has been great if Farmer could have worked out a deal for Marcus Mariota? Certainly. Would it have been nice if the Browns had picked up someone like Garrett Grayson or Brett Hundley? Maybe.
While we’re not totally comfortable with the thought of the Browns taking on the Steelers, Bengals and Ravens with Josh McCown, Manziel or Connor Shaw running the offense, we feel better about it today than we did last Thursday afternoon.
The addition of Erving and the return from injury of Alex Mack means the Browns will once again have one of the best offensive lines in the NFL.
Running back Duke Johnson can be an explosive player out of the backfield and adds another dimension to a running attack that was one of the league’s best prior to Mack’s injury.
The wide receivers may not be the most dynamic in the league, the top three of Dwayne Bowe, Brian Hartline and Andrew Hawkins are professional receivers who know what needs to be done come Sunday afternoon.
Finally, if Pettine and defensive coordinator Jim O’Neill are what we believe they are, the Browns’ defense is going to give opposing offenses major headaches very soon.
Put that all together and the quarterback group, while not comforting, may be a manageable situation come the fall.
There is still a lot of hard work that needs to be done – no one should dispute that – but what should also not be in dispute is the fact that the Browns are well on their way to getting the foundation that Farmer is looking for in place.