In about two and a half weeks, the Cleveland Browns will select their potential future franchise quarterback with the first overall pick in the NFL Draft.
Forget about the mock drafts which have Cleveland taking Penn State RB Saquon Barkley, when the best signal caller you have had since returning to the NFL in 1999 is Tim Couch, you need to address the position.
By the way, that’s not a slight at Couch, who was battered and beaten during his time here because the offensive line was not built at that time.
Really, the last time the Browns have had a QB who ranked in the top ten in the league was when Bernie Kosar was behind center. That was 25 years ago.
We disagree with those who say GM John Dorsey should take a passer who has the biggest upside. After going 1-31 over the past two seasons, and having a void at the position for years and years, we feel you have to take the player with the highest floor, and in our opinion, that player is UCLA QB Josh Rosen.
Rosen was considered one of the three best passers coming out of high school, and basically has held that ranking throughout his college career.
The scouting report on him has him as the most natural pocket passer, with great mechanics and a tight spiral. Since we believe the most successful NFL teams win with pocket quarterbacks, we would seem to be a player who will be a solid pro passer.
We wouldn’t be overly upset if Dorsey selected USC signal caller Sam Darnold, because he’s only 20 years old, and has a lot of upside. His biggest strength is accuracy, but he had turnover issues last year in college.
Baker Mayfield is another player we like, but we worry about his upside since he is turning 23 years old on Saturday.
The NFL media is drooling over Wyoming’s Josh Allen, because he’s 6’5″ and can throw the ball 70 yards in the air. However, accuracy is of the upmost importance in the NFL, the ability to throw receivers open.
That’s the rap on Allen. We believe the national draft pundits are trying to be the guys who are touting the next Carson Wentz, the guy from a small school who becomes a big NFL passer.
Perhaps Allen will be the next Wentz or the next Ben Roethlisburger, but what if he’s the next Derek Anderson or Paxton Lynch? In our opinion, you cannot take that chance with the first overall pick in the draft.
Yes, the Browns have upgraded the position for this year by getting a solid veteran in Tyrod Taylor. But that doesn’t mean you can gamble at #1.
After all these years with no quarterback, you simply must get someone who will be able to handle the position for the next ten years.
Rosen may not seem like a guy who wants to play here, but if Dorsey and the front office like him, they need to sell him that things will be different now, and this is a team that can grow together with young players like Myles Garrett, Emmanuel Ogbah, David Njoku, and the others picked in the last two years along with this draft class.
This is not the time to gamble. You have Taylor for this year and maybe the next, but all that does it buy time for whoever you take to develop so he can take over.
It’s not time to take a project. Take a quarterback who has played against the best college competition.
JD
Cleveland Sports Perspective 