The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Schudel asks Dorsey to not trade draft picks
Jeff Schudel pleads with the Browns GM John Dorsey to not trade the Nos. 1 and 4 picks. Plus, draft analysts say the Browns will take Sam Darnold and thoughts on the Cavs offense, or lack of it.
When it comes to trading draft picks in the first round, the Browns’ success rate is on a par with their winning percentage since 1999 — and not coincidentally.
The Browns have traded firstround picks in nine of the last 15 drafts and made more than one firstround trade several times. The case can be made they were flimflammed every time.
The history lesson is noteworthy because Browns general manager John Dorsey has the first and fourth picks to play with in the first round on April 26. He can keep them and, if he spends wisely, select players who can be cornerstones for the next 10 years, or he can trade one or both to accumulate more picks he can trade later.
It all started in 2004 when Butch Davis traded the seventh pick and their second-round pick to Detroit to move up one spot so he could draft tight end Kellen Winslow Jr.
The Browns passed on quarterback Ben Roethlisberger that year, but that whiff is unrelated to the trade.
Until the Browns finally get their quarterback (maybe April 26?), former Executive Vice President of Football Operations Sashi Brown will forever be skewered for trading the second pick in 2016 to Philadelphia so the Eagles could take Carson Wentz and for trading the 12th pick in 2017 to Houston so the Texans could take Deshaun Watson.
Following the thread of trading the second pick in 2016, the Browns got wide receiver Corey Coleman, tackle Shon Coleman, quarterback Cody Kessler, wide receiver Ricardo Louis, wide receiver Jordan Payton, safety Derrick Kindred, offensive lineman Spencer Drango, safety Jabrill Peppers, quarterback DeShone Kizer and the 64th pick in 2018. The Eagles got Wentz.
The booby prize for the worst draft day trade, though, goes to Tom Heckert for what he did in 2011. The Browns had the sixth pick. They could have drafted wide receiver Julio Jones — the player many mock drafts had the Browns selecting.
Nope. Heckert showed he was the smartest man in the NFL by trading the pick to the Atlanta Falcons for picks 27, 59 and 124 in 2011, plus the Falcons’ first-round and fourthround picks in 2012. Then the Browns traded pick 27 and a third-round pick (70) to the Chiefs so Heckert could draft defensive tackle Phil Taylor.
That bundle of picks turned into, along with Taylor, wide receiver Greg Little (59), fullback Owen Marecic (124) and quarterback Brandon Weeden (pick 22 in 2012). The fourth-round pick was partial payment to move up from fourth to third in 2012 for running back Trent Richardson.
Heckert ran the 2012 draft, too.
Former general manager Ray Farmer had the fourth pick in 2014, traded for the ninth pick, then back up for the eighth pick to snag cornerback Justin Gilbert before anyone else would. In doing so he passed on linebacker Khalil Mack and wide receiver Sammy Watkins.
Farmer traded up four spots to take quarterback Johnny Manziel in the same draft.
It took about 10 minutes of the first practice to know Gilbert was worthless. Manziel started embarrassing the Browns six hours after he was drafted by going on a drunken partying spree in New York, and it got worse after that.
So please, John Dorsey — don’t try to outsmart everybody. Make good picks at one and four and then concentrate on picks 33, 35 and 64 on the second day of the draft.
• Former Browns coach Sam Rutigliano and I will be guests on the “Mondays with Malta” WINT radio show with Charlie Malta from 7-9 p.m. on April 23 at the Happy Moose in Mentor. Come join us for our annual draft preview, good food, and trivia. Rutigliano will have good insight on the quarterbacks the Browns are contemplating drafting.
Analysts favor Darnold
USC quarterback Sam Darnold remains the favorite of most draft analysts to be picked first overall by the Browns.
“Dating back to the day after the 2017 NFL Draft, I have slotted Darnold to Cleveland in every single mock draft I have done,” wrote Dane Brugler of NFLDreaftscout.com. “The Josh Allen-to-Cleveland rumors are getting louder, but I’m sticking with Darnold, who is the best quarterback in this class.”
Brugler’s cohort at NFLDraftscout.com, Rob Rang, also has the Browns taking Darnold over Josh Allen of Wyoming, Baker Mayfield of Oklahoma and Josh Rosen of UCLA.
“An argument could be made for any of the toprated quarterbacks to lead off the NFL Draft, but none of them check more boxes than USC’s Darnold, who combines prototypical physical size and talent to go along with ideal intangibles for the position,” Rang wrote. “Darnold may wind up essentially redshirting his first season as he plays caddy to veteran Tyrod Taylor, but fans in Cleveland should be excited … their long-awaited franchise quarterback is finally on the roster.”
Rang and Brugler both have the Browns taking North Carolina State defensive end Bradley Chubb with the fourth pick. Both have Penn State running back Saquon Barkley going second to the Giants.
“While the Browns’ quarterback woes have earned plenty of attention, their need for a pass rusher opposite last year’s No. 1 overall selection Myles Garrett is also a significant cause for concern,” Rang wrote. “Garrett struggled with various injuries last season but still managed seven sacks, nearly double that of any other member of Cleveland’s defense. Chubb is a proven playmaker who enters the NFL with even better technique and consistency than the freakishly athletic Garrett, giving aggressive defensive coordinator Gregg Williams the tandem to terrorize opponents.”
Mike Mayock of NFL Network ranks Darnold as the best quarterback.
The maverick among the draft analysts is Mel Kiper Jr. of ESPN. He stubbornly has the Browns taking Allen first overall. His sidekick at ESPN, Todd McShay, has the Browns taking Darnold.
“I’m not wavering here. Allen has been my guy to Cleveland at No. 1 overall in my Mock Draft 1.0 in January. As I wrote then, the NFL is all about projection, and the 6-foot-5 Allen has a high ceiling. He has a rocket arm. He has freakish talent. He has done everything he has needed to do during the pre-draft process — from the Senior Bowl, to the combine, to interviews with teams — to be the first pick in this draft.
“Now, Browns fans, I know his college stats give you pause. But NFL teams love him. They love his tools, even if he’s raw. And with Tyrod Taylor in the mix for 2018, Allen doesn’t have to play immediately. He will need some time to adjust to the NFL, and he will need to be coached up. This could be your franchise quarterback, Cleveland.”
McShay sticks to his guns. “I’ve had Darnold here in all three of my mocks,” McShay wrote. “Nothing he has done at the combine or pro day has changed my thoughts on this pick.”
Cavs offense M.I.A.
Coach Tyronn Lue confidently said the Cavaliers defense, at the bottom of the league in the regular season, would be better in the playoffs. And it has been. The Cavs held the Indiana Pacers under 100 points in each of the first three games of their quarterfinal series, yet they find themselves down two games to one with Game 3 set for 8:30 p.m. April 22 in Indianapolis.
The Pacers won Game 1, 98-80, and Game 3, 92-90. In between the Cavaliers won Game 2, 100-97.
The Cavaliers blew a 5740 halftime lead in Game 3, scoring just 12 points in the third quarter and 21 in the fourth. They led, 69-63, heading into the fourth quarter and lost for the first time after being 40-0 when leading after three quarters.
“We did a good job defensively,” a weary Lue told reporters after Game 3. “Offensively, we have to own our space and be tougher with the basketball. You can’t get stripped. The ball goes off our legs out of bounds two or three times and they’re turnovers.
“We just have to own our space and be tougher. We had some good looks. I thought we turned down some good looks, also.”
This series is exposing how much the Cavaliers miss Kyrie Irving, who was traded to the Celtics in August. No one has come close to doing anything on the offensive end to help LeBron James and Kevin Love.
George Hill, who took over at point guard after being acquired from Sacramento at the trading deadline, has been bothered by a bad back that limited him in the second half of Game 3.
Of course there is still time for the Cavaliers to win the series, but now it has to go at least six games for the Cavs to prevail. James played 44 minutes in Game 1, 40 in Game 2 and 41 in Game 3. This after playing all 82 games and leading the NBA in minutes played in the regular season.
The Cavs are hitting just 30.8 percent — 29 of 94 — from 3-point range. The Pacers are not relying on their long-range shooting; they are 25 of 74 (33.7 percent).
I didn’t know that...
...Until I read my Snapple bottle cap.
A bald eagle’s nest can weigh up to two tons . ... Earth is the only planet not named after a Greek or Roman god . ... Queen Isabella of Spain, who funded Christopher Columbus’ voyage across the ocean, claimed to have bathed only twice in her life . ... Bats hang upside down because their legs are too weak to support their weight . ... Alabama once financed a bridge by hosting a rooster auction. ... France used the guillotine as recently as 1977.