Cleveland Browns: It’s probably time to stop talking about other team’s players
By Randy Gurzi
Things went from tight-lipped to gabby in a blink of an eye for the Cleveland Browns, but it’s probably time to stop talking about players on other teams
Maybe it’s because they said so little during the lead up to the 2018 NFL Draft, but the Cleveland Browns are in full blown confessional and we are all just priests taking it in.
First they came out and said UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen just “bothered them” — or at least vice president of player personnel Alonzo Highsmith did. That’s fine to feel that way, but it’s probably best to let the Arizona Cardinals, who actually drafted Rosen, talk about him now.
The same could be said of Denver Broncos edge rusher Bradley Chubb. Now to the Browns defense, this time it was compliments being thrown at Chubb as general manager John Dorsey said they had him and cornerback Denzel Ward similarly ranked.
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What swayed them to choose Ward then? As Dorsey puts it, it was need.
"“The reason is our need for a press cover cornerback. Denzel probably plays that position as well as anyone I’ve seen in college football in some time. We probably play the most press of any team in the league. There’s another reason. I’ve got a video of 28 snaps of Myles Garrett pass-rushes last year where he gets within two steps or less of the quarterback when the ball comes out.” Dorsey said via Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. “Basically, we aren’t covering long enough to let him get to the quarterback. Myles and others — especially [defensive end] Emmanuel Ogbah — will get more chances because of Denzel.”"
Everything Dorsey said made sense. I too believed Ward was the right choice for the exact reasons Dorsey laid out. Cleveland is strong at defensive end with Myles Garrett and Emmanuel Ogbah . Adding a corner like Ward will give those guys an extra couple of seconds to get after the quarterback.
That’s fine for analysts to say. Really it isn’t bad for the general manager to say. It starts to become a problem though when they bring up multiple players that they passed on.
Next: Who will be the biggest steal of the draft?
Cleveland did great in the 2018 NFL Draft, however it’s time to focus on who they do have rather than who they don’t. Anything, no matter how innocent, can be misconstrued and used as bulletin board material later.