Sashi Brown talks quarterbacks, Garrett and more at Cleveland Press Club

Cleveland Browns executive Sashi Brown spoke at a Cleveland Press Club event on Wednesday. Here are the key takeaways from the event.

Cleveland Browns executive vice president of football operations Sashi Brown was the featured speaker on Wednesday at a Press Club of Cleveland luncheon at FirstEnergy Stadium.

During the hourlong event, which was moderated by Browns radio play-by-play man Jim Donovan and included questions from the audience, Brown touched on a number of topics, from the recent NFL Draft, to dealing with expectations and the culture change that the franchise has undergone since hiring Hue Jackson as head coach.

In person Brown comes across as cool and confident — it seems unlikely we will ever see him sweat while being grilled by the soft as marshmallow fluff Cleveland media — but it also seems clear that he is serious about getting this franchise turned around.

Dawg Pound Daily was at the event – sorry we couldn’t get a better photo – and here are few takeaways.

The players are buying what Jackson is selling: “Hue has a charisma that relates with people,” Brown said. “The players trust that he will put them in a position to succeed. Hue is one of those rare coaches that can connect with players both on and off the field, and the players who have joined us under Hue are surprised at the situation he has created when they enter the locker room.”

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Three keys to success: Brown pointed out that successful teams have a quarterback, they develop their own players, and they have continuity in the coaching staff and front office.

And that the Browns are still working on those three items.

“We are on schedule as we believe that we are probably better off now with the assets we have collected,” he said. “We positioned ourselves strategically in 2016 to have a good draft in 2017 and beyond, and now we hope these guys will be Cleveland legends for years to come.”

The quarterback situation: “There is not a supply of talented quarterbacks, and it is a position where it is extremely hard to perform on a consistent basis,” Brown explained. “This ownership group realizes that it is an important position and we will continue to invest in the position (until we get it right).

“We like that we were able to add DeShone Kizer to the quarterback room, and if we can develop him for next year we believe he can be a valuable player for us.”

The fans: “We need to let the fans know that we are not taking any time off from rebuilding the team,” Brown said. “We need to get the football part right, but we also need to give our fans the best experience that we can, no matter if they are at the game or not.”

Myles Garrett, the team’s top draft pick, is impressive: “Myles is confident and deliberate in what he wants to accomplish. He is also intelligent and in some ways boring, which is a good thing for our locker room.”

It is worth noting that Brown’s comment about Garrett being “boring” was in direct response to Donovan asking him to compare Garrett to Cleveland’s other “recent draft pick from Texas A&M.” Safe to say, Cleveland won’t be repeating that mistake as long as Brown and Jackson are in town.

All in all it was a good event and it was interesting to hear Brown talk relatively openly about what is happening with the team. Having an articulate person being transparent — or at least as transparent as one can be in today’s NFL – is refreshing.

Next: The case for starting DeShone Kizer

Of course, none of that matters if Brown and Jackson can’t pull this off. As we’ve seen repeatedly over the years making the plan is easy, it is executing the plan that trips people up.

Which is probably the biggest takeaway of them all.