The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Next QB measured against Wentz
The statement the Browns are making if they move up for Mitchell Trubisky or Deshaun Watson, or if they stay at 12 and pick a quarterback, is clear:
They are saying they are confident the quarterback they pick in the draft that begins at 8 p.m. April 27 will have a better career than Carson Wentz. They won’t say it with words but with their actions.
Rumors were flying all day on the eve of the draft. Adam Schefter of ESPN reported the Browns are still torn between picking Trubisky or Texas A&M defensive end Myles Garrett with the first pick. If the rumors are true, the coaches want Garrett and the front office, led by Sashi Brown, wants to use the pick on Trubisky so the Browns can hold on to their 10 remaining picks.
Mike Silver of NFL Network reported the Browns have talked to four of the 10 teams picking before them about moving up from the 12th pick.
I have the Browns moving from 12 to five in a trade
the Tennessee Titans and then using that pick on Trubisky after taking Garrett first in my final mock draft.
Jacksonville, though, could take a quarterback with the fourth pick. A trade with Tennessee wouldn’t happen until the Titans are on the clock. If Brown gets wind the Jaguars want Trubisky, he might work a deal with the Bears, owners of the third pick, to get ahead of Jacksonville.
The Browns would not be in this quandary if they drafted Wentz with the second pick last year, but they also would not have the 12th pick because that was part of the bounty acquired from the Eagles. Nor would they have
starting wide receiver Corey Coleman, the 52nd pick in this draft (acquired from the Titans as a result of the trade with Philadelphia) or the Eagles’ second-round pick in 2018.
Wentz was 7-9 as a rookie for the Eagles last season. The net result of the trades with the Eagles and Titans was 10 picks for five picks. Quantity will not trump quality if the quarterback the Browns pick isn’t as good as or better than Wentz. The search will continue — most likely with Brown’s successor conducting it.
Trubisky is rated higher than Watson and the other quarterbacks by most analysts, including former NFL coach Jon Gruden, now a color analyst for ESPN.
Watson was 48-8 in high school and won a state championship. He was 33-3 at
Clemson and led the Tigers past Alabama in the national championship game.
“I respect Mitch and what he’s done and all the hype he’s getting, but at the same time, my result speaks for itself,” Watson said April 25 on the NFL Network’s “Good Morning Football”. “I feel like I’ve accomplished everything that I could. I guess if that’s who they (the Browns) are gonna roll with, so be it. You’re gonna have to live with the consequences that come with it. That’s how I see it.”
Both young men have strong character, both are born leaders, both are intelligent — Watson graduated in three years — both are athletic and neither is going to wind up on a TMZ video on an inflatable swan sucking a bottle of champagne.
Could the Browns pull a
shocker by trading for New England backup Jimmy Garoppolo? That could still happen if the Browns don’t trade up to draft Trubisky.
Could they hold onto all their picks and draft a quarterback 33rd? They could, but by then the cupboard will be bare.
Could they bypass this year’s quarterback class and wait until next year when Sam Darnold of Southern Cal and Josh Rosen of UCLA are expected to go first and second in the draft? That might be the best strategy for longterm success, but it also might be the least likely.
Whatever they decide, it will be measured by the success of Wentz — the fish the Browns let off the hook.