The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Analyst ranks 2018 draft class worst of the decade
The Browns have two picks in the first round and three in the second round in the 2018 draft. The regime led by Sashi Brown has been building to the three days at the end of next April by trading down, trading down and trading down again in 2016 and 2017.
So naturally — this is so Browns — according to Matt Miller of Bleacher Report, the 2018 draft class is the weakest of the decade.
“If draft classes are fixer-uppers,” Miller wrote, “the 2018 class has mold in the walls and the basement leaks.
“But that doesn’t mean the right person can’t fix it up and make something awesome from it. You just need the right person evaluating what you’ve got and making the plan to fix it.”
Miller continues: “The quarterbacks — as many as five or six could go in the first round — are a collection of question marks all likely to receive a grade lower than Jared Goff, Carson Wentz, Jameis Winston or Marcus Mariota on my final board.”
The Browns are 0-8. Barring something unforeseen, they will have the first or second pick and could end up with two in the top 10 now that Houston is without quarterback Deshaun Watson. The Browns own Houston’s pick from the trade that enabled the Texans to select Watson with the 12th pick in 2017.
Having the first pick for a second straight year would be the reward for being the worst team in the league again. But, according to Miller, if the Browns do pick a quarterback first, he won’t come with the high regard of Wentz in 2016 or Watson in 2017. Wentz, taken second in 2016 with the pick acquired in a trade with the Browns, has thrown 23 touchdown passes and only five interceptions. The fourth-ranked passer has the Eagles in first place in the NFC East.
“Would you rather have the No. 1 pick and spend it on Josh Rosen (UCLA quarterback) or the No. 20 pick and draft Baker Mayfield (Oklahoma quarterback)?” Miller quotes one anonymous scout as saying. Then the scout adds: “You can’t convince me one is better than the other right now.”
Sam Darnold of Southern Cal, Mason Rudolph of Oklahoma State, Ryan Finley of North Carolina State and Josh Allen of Wyoming are also considered potential first-round quarterbacks in 2018.
Sports Illustrated, in its most recent 2018 mock draft, has the Browns taking Darnold, a redshirt sophomore who could return to USC next fall. He will have the option of making that decision after knowing where the Browns pick in the draft.
The uncertainty in the quality of the 2018 draft makes it even more important for the Browns to figure out what they have in DeShone Kizer. Kizer, short of injury, should take every snap in the final eight games so he can be assessed properly.
Brown admits fault
Brown gets a little sensitive when asked if the Browns need to hire “a football guy” before the next offseason.
Fans who believe the plan to make the Browns a winner is working defend Brown by saying Vice President of Player Personnel Andrew Berry, hired in January 2016, is a football guy because of his scouting background with the Colts that began in 2009. Berry “leads all talent evaluations for the club, including college prospects and NFL free agents,” according to his job description in the media guide.
Ryan Grigson, fired as Colts general manager Jan. 21, was hired by the Browns as a senior personnel executive May 24. He reports to Berry, but he has 13 years of experience in the trenches and getting his shoes muddy as a scout — something Brown never had to do.
So now, instead of using the term “football guy,” we’ll say “a football guy that can evaluate quarterbacks.” Because while just about everyone else knew Wentz and Watson would be successful, somehow, Brown has finally admitted, the Browns’ homework on both quarterbacks was flawed.
“I would just say I don’t think just trading down was the problem,” Brown said. “I think it’s just purely evaluating. ... I don’t shy away from missed opportunities at all. That’s going to be a piece of it.
“There are a lot of nonquarterbacks out there frankly that are playing well right now, too, that we would love to have on our team, but we’re not going to get every one right. We haven’t, and we won’t moving forward. We will get enough of them right and we will solve the quarterback position here.
“I’m not going to comment on Carson. I’m happy that he’s off to a good start to his career. Obviously, for us, the focus has to be moving forward — what can we learn from that that can help our decisions moving forward? At the end of the day, we always can get better and we will always look to get better certainly, including at the quarterback position, absolutely.”
Brown did not pound the table in support of Kizer, the quarterback chosen 52nd overall in the 2017 draft.
Rose in and out
The Cavaliers knew when they signed Derrick Rose to a one-year contract that he would not be available 82 games. He has already missed five games, though not consecutively, because of ankle injuries with 70 games remaining heading into the game at Dallas on Nov. 11. He played 64 games last season with the Knicks.
This could be an ongoing problem until Isaiah Thomas returns from a hip injury in late December. Iman Shumpert started at guard along with J.R. Smith against the Rockets in Houston. That is not the way Coach Tyronn Lue drew it up. It is just one reason the Cavs took a 5-7 record into their game with the Mavericks.
Center Tristan Thompson is expected to miss five more games with a calf injury.
“I’m a big cohesiveness and rhythm and camaraderie guy, and this year we added (eight) new guys to our roster,” LeBron James told reporters in Houston. “We’ve had some different lineups and guys in and out, including myself in the preseason. It kind of slow-tracked what we want to do as a unit. So every game is like a high-intense opportunity practice for us to try to get better and better vs. great competition, no matter who we’re playing.
“It’s been challenging. But I’ve always kind of fell in love with the process and being very patient and understanding what this season is. Every season is different. I’ve always said that. This season is a different challenge, and it’s good to be a part of it.”
James isn’t worried. He recalled the Heat was 9-8 his first year in Miami (2010-11) and that team advanced to the NBA Finals before losing to Dallas in six games.
I didn’t know that
… Until I read my Snapple bottle cap:
An African elephant can turn the pages of a book with its trunk. … There are more nerve connections or “synapses” in a person’s brain than there are stars in our galaxy. … There are 18 animal shapes in the animal cracker zoo. … For 67 years, Nintendo produced only playing cards. … Gorillas burp when they are happy. … Ethiopia follows a calendar that is seven years behind the rest of the world.
Schudel can be reached at JSchudel@News-Herald. com; on Twitter: @ jsproinsider.