The Cleveland Browns, by virtue of their horrible 4-12 record in 2011, have the 4th selection in this spring’s NFL Draft.
Will they draft a quarterback, or should they continue the “rebuilding process” with Colt McCoy, who played well as a rookie, but struggled with coach Pat Shurmur’s offense?
It really is a quandary.
Look at the best quarterbacks in the game right now. Most were picked in the first round. Sure, Tom Brady was a 6th round pick and Drew Brees was taken in the 2nd round, but look at the rest of the passers, who people would consider in the top ten.
Aaron Rodgers–1st round pick
Ben Roethlisberger–1st round pick
Peyton Manning–1st round pick
Philip Rivers–1st round pick
Eli Manning–1st round pick
Matthew Stafford–1st round pick
Matt Ryan–1st round pick
As you can see, if you want an elite quarterback, the best place to find one is in the first round of the draft.
And if the Cleveland Browns are improving, they likely will not have a chance to get someone with the skill set of Robert Griffin III for a while, because hopefully, they won’t be picking in the top ten again for a long time.
So, you have to take a shot at him now, right?
A by-product of taking the Heisman Trophy winner would be the excitement such a selection would make to this moribund franchise.
People would be talking about the Browns, and in a positive way.
On the flip side, you can make the argument that quarterback is not the primary need for the Browns and if you surrounded McCoy with better skill players at wide receiver and running back, this offense would look much better.
And you would have to think McCoy would feel more comfortable in the west coast offense in his second season running it, as opposed to Griffin having to learn it.
No one wants to sit through another season where the quarterback is learning instead of producing.
Another school of thought is that what needs to be fixed is the offense, not the person executing it. Getting Griffin would be great, but could he succeed in Shurmur’s offense?
He would have the same problem as McCoy in getting used to taking snaps from center. Griffin spent a lot of time in the shotgun formation at Baylor, just as McCoy did at Texas.
It would be more likely that draftees who play other positions can contribute right away, and at a high level. Heck, the Browns started three rookies (Phil Taylor, Jabaal Sheard, and Jason Pinkston) all 16 games this season.
The opinion here is that the organization should bite the bullet and take Griffin. There are no sure things in professional sports, but certainly Griffin has the ability to be a dynamic player at the most important position in sports, quarterback.
However, Shurmur would have to open up the attack and let Griffin do what he can do, and that is make plays.
We all saw the impact Cam Newton made on Carolina’s offense this season. Might Griffin be able to do the same thing?
And this is the perfect time to do it, with Cleveland having two first round choices coming up.
The second pick in the first round, probably around 20th-25th, can be used on other needs, such as a wide receiver or offensive lineman.
And remember, the Browns will have another high pick in round two. They will have three of the top 40 choices.
Today’s NFL is a quarterback driven league. If you have a very good one, you have a chance to win a title.
Think of the Browns’ championship contending squads, they all were led by premier passing attacks.
Robert Griffin III is not a sure thing, but the talent is there to be an elite quarterback.
The Browns have to take that chance.
JD
Cleveland Sports Perspective 