If Browns want to win, why not just draft a winner?

The Cleveland Browns need to change the team’s culture and that starts with winning. Can Deshaun Watson be the quarterback that accomplishes that goal?

The Cleveland Browns have been one of the NFL’s worst franchises since returning to the league in 1999.

No playoff wins since 1994, no playoff appearances since 2002, only three winning records in the past 23 years.

Those numbers are the direct result of poor decisions in free agency and even worst decisions on draft weekend, which have all resulted in the Browns starting more quarterbacks since 1999 than anyone can keep track of. (OK, it is actually 26.)

“When the game’s on the line, he gets better. He does not shrink.” – NFL analyst Mike Mayock on Deshaun Watson

The inability to find a quarterback is tied directly to the team’s inability to win, but the Browns have the opportunity to solve that once and for all come the weekend of the 2017 NFL Draft.

If the Browns want to win, why not just simply draft a winner in Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson?

The three-year starter completed his collegiate career third in ACC history in total offense, threw 90 career touchdown passes, and is at the top of Clemson’s career list in completion percentage, passer rating and total offense per game.

Watson, who was last seen embarrassing Ohio State and then defeating a loaded Alabama team for the national title, pointed out on Friday that if winning is important to an NFL team, then he’s the man for the job.

“I’d just say my past history. Starting back in high school, the way I was raised, coming from the projects and being able to get out of that. Being the face of college football for two years, handling the success, handling all the criticism and the adversity,” Watson said, according to CBS Sports. And then being 48-8 in high school and winning a state championship and then going to the collegiate level and being 33-3. So one thing that translates from college to the NFL is winners and I think, being a quarterback, that’s the biggest thing being recognized, winning games. That’s all I’ve been doing.”

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Earlier this week, head coach Hue Jackson spelled out several of the traits he is looking for in a quarterback, with football IQ and leadership being key items on the list. Jackson talked about how his quarterback needs to “challenge people to do a little bit more than what they’re used to,” which are all areas where Watson scores highly.

“All the coaches that I’ve heard from want to know if I can change the protections, run the offense and recognize defensive coverages. I answered their questions and they were very impressed,” Watson said, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “They know I’m not just another quarterback running the spread offense. I’m a guy who can operate and make good decisions and recognized what the defense is trying to do.”

Watson hits just about every check mark that Jackson is looking for in a quarterback. He has the body size (6-foot-2 and 221 pounds) and hand size (9.75 inches) that teams like in a quarterback, and is accurate (a 67 percent completion rate at Clemson).

Most importantly, he brings along one important trait that fellow draft prospects like North Carolina’s Mitchell Trubisky, Notre Dame’s DeShone Kizer and Texas Tech’s Patrick Mahomes do not.

He just wins.

“The one thing that translates from college to the NFL is winning,” Watson said, according to NJ.com. “I think being a quarterback, that’s the biggest thing that should be recognized. Winning games.”

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If there is one thing that the Browns need more of, it is someone who knows how to win games. Watson may not be the “hometown hero to save the franchise,” or yet another “backup quarterback that the Browns must have,” but maybe he doesn’t have to be.

Maybe just being a winner is enough for a franchise starved for wins.