Cleveland Browns: What should the Browns do at QB?

The Cleveland Browns are still searching for a franchise quarterback, but that player may not need to be found just yet.

Every year, the Cleveland Browns deal with the same problem over and over again. The one position they can’t seem to ever get right is being able to find someone who can be serviceable at the quarterback position. It’s the stat you see go up every year, “The Browns have started 27 different quarterbacks since 1999”, and yes that number is accurate.

Some way some how, the Browns always get talked into drafting a quarterback too early or going after someone they don’t feel great on because pressure from the media and fan base to get that specific position right. The Browns have three options this offseason. They can either take a quarterback in free agency, take one in this year’s draft or just wait to draft a quarterback until the 2018 NFL Draft.

I am here to tell you that despite the free agent market (Kirk Cousins, Jimmy Garoppolo, Tyrod Taylor, etc.) and the quarterbacks available to take in the draft (Deshaun Watson, Mitch Trubisky, Deshone Kizer, etc.), that the Browns should suck it up another year and roll with the quarterback talent (or untalented based on how you look at it) we have on the roster currently. It isn’t the easiest decision to make, but it could be the best one. Let’s check out some of the pros and cons of each individual situation.

Take a QB in Free Agency

Whether it be the watching management go back and forth with good quarterbacks like Kirk Cousins and Tyrod Taylor on their current deals or watching the Patriots shopping out Jimmy Garoppolo for picks, I can see how our fan base could feel a little ill-tempered. The Cleveland Browns haven’t had a solid quarterback to call their own since what feels forever and I can see how the opportunity to go get one of these few quarterbacks could be enticing.

While Kirk Cousins has seemed like a solid quarterback in Washington, he has had a tremendous supporting cast that would make him look a bit better than advertised. In Cousins’ 41 career starts, Cousins is 2-11 versus teams with nine or more wins and 5-13 against teams that have eight or more wins. Yes, Cousins has the overall stats and has not always had a great defense but one would assume by looking at his stats sheet that he does struggle greatly when facing an above average defense.

Cousins also wants a deal worth a lot of money that I personally don’t think he deserves and has been quoted saying he won’t do a team-friendly deal because it would “it would be a selfish move to hurt future quarterbacks”. Yeah, okay Kirk. With a high price tag and less pieces for Cousins to work with in Cleveland, this would be a massive mistake.

In his first two career starts, Jimmy Garoppolo looked like Tom Brady at times. Garoppolo looked so much like Brady, that there were even talks that maybe the Patriots should have just continued to roll with him. That is of course until Tom Brady came back and we realized that he still looks like he hadn’t lost a step. The Patriots made it known toward the end of the season that they would be open to shopping Garoppolo when ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that a starting point for trade talks would need to involve a “first and fourth-round round pick”.

For someone with only two starts under their belt, that price is way too high. Seeing Garoppolo succeed in the system that Bill Belichick has built up in New England is no surprise. We have seen this trick by the Patriots before, just ask the Kansas City Chiefs how well Matt Cassel (who went 11-5 for the Patriots the year Brady tore his ACL) worked out.

My main point here being, the Browns shouldn’t waste their time trading away picks or throwing money away to talents who haven’t proved they are worth that value. The Browns ultimately need to be focused on making this overall team better first before plugging a quarterback in and praying for the best. The best way to do that is to invest in the draft and how can the Browns do that if they are trading away picks for players that the other teams don’t wish to keep.

Draft a QB in 2017 NFL Draft

It’s no secret that the 2017 NFL Draft class is weak when it comes to the position of quarterback. There really is no sure thing and not a true number one prospect that has set himself apart from the rest. You have guys who have huge question marks like Deshone Kizer and Mitch Trubisky, and someone in Deshaun Watson who most say don’t have size or arm to succeed at the next level. Are any of these quarterbacks even worth taking a chance on if you are the Browns with the first overall pick, or even the twelfth pick?

I have had high praise for Deshaun Watson and that is no secret. Watson put his stamp on his college football career by slaying the Crimson Tide defense in one of the exciting college football games we have ever seen. Watson, throughout his career at Clemson, showed time and time again that he is the best quarterback in the nation.

Some of the great tools he does have are high football IQ along with great decision-making, great poise in the pocket and the ability to control the game. Scouts have criticized Watson’s size and his arm strength and accuracy as some of the things that will hurt him in the next level and most don’t even have him ranked as a first-round quarterback.

Mitch Trubisky was the hot name of the all the draft talk this season, most saying he could be the best quarterback in the draft. In his first season as a starter, Trubisky showed everyone just how good of a quarterback he could be. Most Browns fans are falling in love with his size and arm strength, but the most intriguing factor is that Trubisky was born in Mentor, Ohio.

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Fans are always falling in love with the hometown kid but the one thing that stands out with me is Trubisky’s lack of experience. Trubisky only has 13 games under his belt and didn’t get a chance to start until his junior year. It’s no secret that college quarterbacks with lack of experience tend to fall flat on their face in the NFL. It is also a little weird that if this kid was the next great NFL quarterback, why was he unable to beat out Marquise Williams the year before. Relax, just some food for thought. Maybe the kid from Mentor was just a one-year wonder.

Deshone Kizer is probably the most mysterious of them all. There is no doubt that Kizer has great arm strength and a great football mind is great but his progression from the 2015 season to the 2016 season was a main cause for concern. Deshone Kizer lost a lot of talent to the 2016 NFL Draft, first round picks T Ronnie Stanley and WR Will Fuller just to name a few. Things regarding Kizer’s character have also surfaced while evaluating him as a prospect. We will stand to find more about Kizer as they draft process proceeds further, but for now he could be the biggest mystery.

All three of these quarterbacks have their faults and their promise, and likely all three won’t make it out of the first round, maybe not even out the top ten. This is a draft heavily filled with defensive talent that might not happen again in the near future and the Browns need defensive help.

The Cleveland Browns own three of the first 33 picks in this year’s draft (two in the top twelve) and I personally believe that the Browns should invest in some of the sure fire defensive prospects rather than take a risk on a quarterback just because the team is in dire need of one.

Oct 8, 2016; Tempe, AZ, USA; UCLA Bruins quarterback Josh Rosen (3) against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Sun Devil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Draft a QB in 2018 NFL Draft

This, in my humble opinion, would be the best option. The 2017 NFL Draft class is weak on when it comes to quarterback talent and no one shows promise as someone who can be “the guy”, especially in Cleveland where talent isn’t abundant. The Cleveland Browns’ staff would be fools to take one of them with either of the two two top twelve picks in this year’s draft. The goal this year should be focused on building up the defense in a ridiculously strong defensive talented draft.

The 2018 NFL Draft class however, will be the one where teams will likely be able to find a franchise quarterback. Some of the hot names that are already be leading that list will be guys like Sam Darnold from USC, Josh Rosen from UCLA, Baker Mayfield from Oklahoma and Josh Allen from Wyoming.

The Browns will most likely end up with another top ten draft pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, which could be used to snag one of these top quarterbacks who have all piqued the interest of scouts at the next level.

The main point I want all Browns fans to know is that while the Browns have struggled over the years to find a franchise quarterback, they don’t just grow on trees. Even if the team took a top flight guy this year or traded for either Kirk Cousins or Jimmy Garoppolo, it would only further hurt the franchise.

Next: 4 players to watch for in free agency

The Browns need to get some help on the roster on all sides of the ball and they should be focusing on that more than trying so hard to find the franchise quarterback so badly. So take a deep breath fellow Browns fans. We knew this was going to be a process, we just need to trust it.