Dorsey gets to work finding franchise QB
New GM has orders from Haslam: It’s his ‘No. 1 priority.’
CLEVELAND — Browns owner Jimmy Haslam gave new general manager John Dorsey his marching orders almost from the day they first met six weeks ago: Find a quarterback.
“That will be John’s No. 1 priority,” Haslam said during Dorsey’s introductory press conference Friday. “The Cleveland Browns are not going to be successful until we get a quarterback. We’re going to do whatever it takes to find a quarterback we need to be successful.”
Dorsey will have the resources to find his man, either in the draft, free agency or both. The Browns, who will start rookie seco nd-round draft pick DeShone Kizer again today against the Packers, probably will have two top-10 picks, including likely the No. 1 pick for the second year in a row. They’ll also have $90 million-$100 million in cap space.
“We obviously have DeShone,” said Haslam. “We
two other quarterbacks on the roster (Cody Kessler and Kevin Hogan, whom Dorsey drafted in Kansas City). We’re going to look at free agency, and we’re going to look at the draft. We have a substantial amount of capital.
“During the process, we’ve gotten to know each other very well over the last several weeks. (Dorsey) would tell you if you asked him, ‘What did Jimmy ask you more than anything?’ It was about quarterback.”
Dorsey has been involved with some great quarterbacks in his career, including Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers. He traded for Alex Smith when he was Chiefs’ GM, and traded up to draft Patrick Mahomes at No. 10 last year. Smith is No. 2 in the NFL with a 107.2 rating.
“It’s important and that’s why I was excited to get here to get a head start and be around the group and see from my own eyes,” he said. “I like [Kizer] who’s here now. Coming out in the draft, we actually brought him up as one of the four or five quarterbacks in terms of the 30-player visit last year coming out in the draft.
“Let’s sit down as a group; I want to understand from a coaching perspective how they see it; I want to see how the personnel staff sees it; I want to sit down with the head coach and see how he sees it. Let’s begin to build a plan moving forward and identify. This is a quarterback-driven league. We all know that, and we all know to succeed and go a little bit further and further and further that you need one of those guys.
“The draft is four and a half months away and free agency is like three months away. We have ample time to make a plan here.”
The Browns could have first crack at the top quarterbacks in the rich 2018 class, including Josh Rosen, Sam Darnold, Josh Allen and Baker Mayfield. It’s touted as an above-average QB class.
“It’s not a bad class,” said Dorsey, who’s been studying the QBs even after he was fired by the Chiefs in June. “How they play on the field — that’s the first measuring stick, but also, there are other components that go into that in terms of their ability to understand the game of football, the technical stuff of football, what kind of people are they? Do they fit into the culture that you are trying to establish?”
Dorsey laid out his criteria for a franchise quarterback.
“Got to win, No. 1,” he said. “There are so many different variables that partake in that position. You have to have the physical skills that we all see. Feet are important in today’s football. Accuracy is very important. Do they have the mindset of the head coach? Can they comprehend and digest that playbook? That’s very important, as well. Do guys naturally gravitate to him from a leadership component?
“What does he do in adverse situations? How does he react? Can he extend the play? Can he drive it and win it at the end of the game? These are the little things you look for as these guys play the game.”
Coach Hue Jackson anticipates being more involved in selecting the quarterback. Sources said Jackson preferred Carson Wentz over Jared Goff in the 2016 draft and that he would’ve been happy to take him at No. 2. He also pushed for Jimmy Garoppolo and AJ McCarron.
“We all know that’s the big piece that we still have to get right,” Jackson said. “That’s what we’ll definitely sit down and talk through. I think John has some tremendous ideas on how to accomplish that.”