Cleveland Browns: A great draft is distracting fans, for now
The Cleveland Browns had a well-received draft but still have low expectations for the 2016 season.
The Cleveland Browns have a passionate fan base that just wants to see the team make the playoffs and ultimately win a Super Bowl before humans reach a singularity and football is no longer in existence.
Based on the nature of professional sports leagues, it should seem inevitable that the Browns are not too far away from winning a Super Bowl, but recent history, the curse of John Elway and the Chicago Cubs’ title drought shows that winning a championship is never a given at any time in the future.
The Browns have been in the basement of the NFL for much of the new millennium, but took a step in the right direction two weeks ago during the 2016 NFL Draft.
The front office selected 14 players, and all of them have a realistic shot of making the team and contributing in 2016.
The draft class was well-received and gave fans a sense of hope that things are going to be different in the future, which looks like the case. But the key thing about that statement is that the change will be seen in the future and not in 2016.
The Browns enter 2016 without Alex Mack and Mitchell Schwartz, two of the best offensive linemen in the NFL, after both left in free agency.
The defense will be without Tashaun Gipson, Donte Whitner and Karlos Dansby, all major contributors in 2015.
There is the argument that the team went 3-13 so losing these players should not have too much of an effect on the record, but that does not mean there will not be visible holes at the positions they filled.
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The Browns did draft players to help fill these holes, but it is impossible to expect a team filled with rookies to not make mistakes, and many of them. We have also not seen any of these players play an NFL game, so it is yet to be seen if they are indeed great picks, or if they even make the roster.
A lot of stock is being put in each player selected, but the front office knows that if just a few become major contributors, this class will be a success.
This fact means that 2016 may be a rough season. This does not even cover the lack of a major playmaker at the running back position, or the uncertainties amongst the receiving corps that is so underwhelming, five players were selected at the position.
Then there is the quarterback position, where the top option is a player who was essentially forced out by a team that traded the world to draft him No. 2 overall in 2012.
The process being undertaken by the front office is something that is going to take several years for success to be seen, even if the team has great drafts each of the next two to three years. These drafts should lead to a playoff berth, but fans must realize that this 2016 class is only the first building-block toward that goal.