I spent my weekend in downtown Cleveland for my brother’s wedding. At the same time, 15 miles away at the Cleveland Browns facility, new general manager John Dorsey channeled his inner Kevin Costner and pulled off multiple franchise changing trades without giving away his future picks. It was a remarkable 36 hours for a team that needs some good fortune. But with everything the Browns did, they still have to draft a quarterback with the No. 1 pick.
Why the Browns STILL have to draft a QB first overall, despite trading for Tyrod Taylor
The Browns have a starter for 2018: Taylor. Now, it makes even more sense to use the first pick on a signal caller for the future.
Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images
The Browns’ first trade (none of which become official until the new league year at 4 p.m. March 14) was for Dolphins Pro Bowl wide receiver Jarvis Landry. The Browns sent a 2018 fourth-rounder and a 2019 seventh-rounder to Miami for Landry. It feels like a steal to add Landry to a lineup with Josh Gordon, David Njoku, their group of running backs, and a quality offensive line. Excellent start to the trading frenzy for the Browns.
On Friday night, we had the wedding rehearsal, and then we drove to the rehearsal dinner. I walked into the restaurant and said hello to the chef. We spoke for a minute and being the Browns fan he is, he said: “Can you believe the Browns traded for Tyrod Taylor?”
I’m normally up on the breaking news, but I hadn’t seen this. This caught me by surprise. The Browns traded their 2018 third-round pick to the Bills for Taylor an immediate upgrade to their quarterback position.
Later that night, with no need to keep him, the Browns shipped their 2017 second-round pick and starting quarterback DeShone Kizer to the Packers for cornerback Damarious Randall and a swap of draft picks. Randall wore out his welcome in Green Bay, but he’s another quality starter added to the Browns’ roster.
Lastly, the Browns traded big nose tackle Danny Shelton to the Patriots to round out their transactions for this period.
The biggest transaction of the bunch was the trade for Taylor, an underrated quarterback who led the Bills to the postseason in 2017. This move can clearly have an effect on what the Browns will do with the first pick in the draft. It could allow the Browns to draft running back Saquon Barkley at No. 1, a move I’ve passionately opposed and still do.
The same thoughts I had about the Browns needing to draft a quarterback at No. 1 still stand. They need to stop settling for a quarterback, and there’s no guarantee the quarterback they like will be available with the fourth pick. And the running back position isn’t a high value position. I’ve spoken with several ex-teammates on this subject and every single one of them agrees with me. You can’t justifying taking a running back at one when you don’t have that franchise quarterback. So how does the Taylor trade play into the thought process?
Joe Thomas, the Browns left tackle and future Hall of Famer, has said on multiple occasions this offseason that Dorsey was going to bring in a veteran quarterback, even if they draft a quarterback with the first pick. The Taylor trade feels like exactly what Dorsey did last season in Kansas City, trading up to draft Pat Mahomes to sit behind Alex Smith for a year. I know Andy Reid was a big reason behind the Mahomes pick, but Dorsey was still the general manager at that point. The Chiefs traded up to draft the big arm kid from an Air Raid offense who could eventually be the starter but needed a year or two of transition.
Cough cough, Baker Mayfield …
The general idea, which I tend to agree with, is Sam Darnold and Josh Rosen are the quarterbacks most ready to play in the NFL now. Mayfield, Lamar Jackson, and Josh Allen need a year or two to get ready. Grabbing a veteran quarterback in Taylor allows the Browns to draft Mayfield at one and give him the opportunity to sit for a season.
For multiple reasons, the Browns must draft their quarterback of the future with the first pick. They went 0-16 because they were 32nd in passing, not because they are one running back away from contention. If you look at Dorsey’s history in the draft, his first-round picks are all at the top four positions on a NFL team — left tackle, cornerback, defensive end, and quarterback. I see that trend continuing for the 2018 draft.
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