Cleveland Browns: 3 takeaways from Round 1 of the 2017 NFL Draft
By Kirk Binder
The Browns were linked to each of the top quarterbacks in this class at one point or another.
North Carolina’s Mitchell Trubisky was the one quarterback the Browns were said to be looking at the most, with some reports even saying the was considering using the No. 1 overall selection on him.
But then the first round came to a close, Cleveland had not selected a quarterback.
As of now, Cody Kessler or Brock Osweiler will be the starting quarterback going into 2017. With an improved offensive line and an improved defense, this situation is not as bleak as some may believe. Life should be easier for whoever the starter is, as the Browns shouldn’t be playing from behind as much as they did last season, meaning that they can focus more on the run game.
Cleveland may not have selected a quarterback Thursday night, but they are far from satisfied with the current state of the position, according to Brown:
"“Yeah, we need to solidify the quarterback position. It’s not solidified right now. We know that we need the guys here to work their tails off, and Hue is going to develop them as much as possible and push them to be their best. We also know that until we get it solidified, we are going to continue looking for players all over the league and in college. That may be in next year’s draft. That may be in free agency. It may be via trade.”"
This situation could still change as Cleveland has the draft ammo to still make a trade to draft a quarterback if they want. They could and probably will pick a quarterback before the draft is over, most likely from a group that includes Notre Dame’s DeShone Kizer, Cal’s Davis Webb or Tennessee’s Josh Dobbs.
Next: What time does the NFL Draft start tonight?
With 6 more rounds to go there will be more stories but these are the three biggest as of now.