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Is it time for Cleveland Browns fans to fairly criticize John Dorsey?

By Christopher Markoch

NEW ORLEANS, LA - SEPTEMBER 16: General Manager of the Cleveland Browns John Dorsey on the sidelines before the start of the game against the New Orleans Saints at Mercedes-Benz Superdome on September 16, 2018 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS, LA - SEPTEMBER 16: General Manager of the Cleveland Browns John Dorsey on the sidelines before the start of the game against the New Orleans Saints at Mercedes-Benz Superdome on September 16, 2018 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images) /
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As the Cleveland Browns continue to reshape their roster, it’s becoming clear that many fans, while excited about the present, are growing concerned about the future.

Monday April 1, 2019 will, hopefully, go down in Cleveland Browns history as the day everything changed. When Baker Mayfield, Jarvis Landry, Myles Garrett, and Odell Beckham Jr. appeared on the same podium to answer questions from the media, Browns fans got a glimpse of what’s in store for the 2019 season.

However, as a bookend to that press conference was the news that the Browns had released safety Derrick Kindred and later announced a trade of defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah to the Kansas City Chiefs for safety Eric Murray. And just as Browns fans were digesting that trade, news broke that running back Duke Johnson was also requesting a trade.

There is no question that John Dorsey has improved the top-line talent on the roster. Browns fans are excited about the starting lineup on both sides of the ball, and with good reason. But football is a game of attrition. The “next man up” philosophy really depends on who that next man is. Dorsey has made short work of anybody that was not on the roster when he took the reins.

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In one sense, that’s completely normal. Most general managers will make the roster their own as soon as possible. The fact that Dorsey was starting from an 0-16 team gives him a longer leash than most. And if Browns fans are completely honest with themselves, Ogbah and Kindred were examples of players with more possibility than actual production.

Still, there are fair questions. When Dorsey became the Browns general manager, there were some not so quiet whispers that he has never seen a salary cap he couldn’t blow up. So far, he is not being shy at spending the healthy salary cap space left to him. At the moment, quality, experienced depth is a concern at some positions.

The biggest question for me is this. Is John Dorsey confusing activity for productivity? After two years of watching a front office that was clearly holding their powder for “the right moment”, it was refreshing to see Dorsey’s aggressive style.

But are all these moves that affect players who have been contributors and are still on a team-friendly contract really helping the Browns get better? Or are moves being made because they can? What role, if any, has Steve Wilks, had in the evaluation of players such as Ogbah and Kindred?

Next. Odell Beckham Jr. has a foe in Joe Haden. dark

Once the season kicks off, these questions may answer themselves. But the success of a franchise often happens when that next man up cliché is put into practice. Hopefully John Dorsey is putting in place the right men for the job.

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