Why the Cleveland Browns should pass on David Ojabo

Reason No. 1: Elephant in the room

If a team were to take a chance on developing David Ojabo as a premier edge defender, the best chance of success would be to take him with a first-round pick. That would guarantee whichever franchise pulled the trigger would have a fifth year of control, giving the team the optimum amount of time to fully develop Ojabo as a player and decide if they wanted to retain him going forward.

For that reason alone, Ojabo should not be an option for the Browns. If they were to use a second-round pick on Ojabo, that would leave them one to two years maximum to develop him and decide whether or not to extend him.

Ask yourself this question, if the Browns knew Delpit was going to miss his rookie year with a torn Achilles, would they make the same decision with the 44th overall pick in 2020? Of course they wouldn’t, that would just be bad business.

Every move this front office makes is to make the team better and give the franchise the maximum window of sustained success. By drafting Ojabo given his current medical situation, the team would be effectively hamstringing themselves for the next two seasons while they wait to see what they have in him. That is not how teams that are in win-now mode operate.

Whoever the Browns select at number 44 must be a player that immediately adds value to the roster and can contribute from the word go. The Browns may still select an edge with their first pick, but it will not be David Ojabo.