Browns Start Today And Need To Improve From ’24

The Cleveland Browns are in an odd situation as they open their 2025 season today at home against the Cincinnati Bengals. Their roster is a mixed bag.

The fans that worship draft picks above everything else would like them to “strategically lose”, which we guess is the new term for tanking, in order to have two high draft picks to solve the franchise’s age-old quarterback problem.

However, this is not a team devoid of proven talent. The Browns have perhaps the NFL’s best defensive player in Myles Garrett and a Pro Bowl corner in Denzel Ward. The defense was the best in the NFL just two years ago, and even last season allowed 20 points or less five times.

Remember, the Browns were tied with Tennessee for the most turnovers in the league a year ago with 34, so the defense was put in a lot of bad spots making their numbers look worse than they actually were.

On offense, the Browns have a veteran offensive line that weirdly (we know why) changed their blocking scheme after years of success and decided this season that, you know, maybe we shouldn’t have changed what was working.

They also have a Pro Bowl wide receiver in Jerry Jeudy and a good tight end in David Njoku.

With all of the talent on the roster, and at this point, let us remind everyone that just two seasons ago, yes just two, this team was 11-6 and made the playoffs.

Because of the veterans and the talent they possess, the Browns really cannot tank. And that’s why the starting quarterback was always going to be Joe Flacco, despite folks in the media predicting Kenny Pickett.

An aside, media people root for stories, and we always think about asking them this when they opine–if your job was on the line, is that what you would do?

Flacco gives them a professional at the position. He will make sure his teammates are lined up properly and make good football decisions. He might turn it over from time to time, but it won’t be because he’s experiencing something he’s never seen before.

It’s also Flacco because despite all of the good feelings in the front office, GM Andrew Berry and coach Kevin Stefanski have to know going 3-14 again this year doesn’t bode well for job security. Jimmy Haslam can say whatever he wants, but we would bet on a new regime in place for 2026 with another disastrous season.

So, the Browns need to win or at least be competitive during the early part of the schedule which appears to be daunting. We would expect Stefanski will depend on what he knows best, a solid running game with a play action passing attack with the still strong armed Flacco in charge.

And he will also depend on the defense getting back its mojo with Garrett and two what look to be solid rookies in first round pick Mason Graham and second rounder Carson Schwesinger.

That unit looks like it could be among the best in the NFL again.

Here’s our best-case scenario for the 2025 Cleveland Browns. Between 6-8 victories and a 3-14 season by the Jacksonville Jaguars. Football fans would get a competitive team, and the draft lovers would get their high pick next spring.

It Was Always Going To Be Flacco, And Other Stuff…

The least shocking news of the week came on Monday when Browns’ coach Kevin Stefanski named Joe Flacco the starting quarterback for the season opener against Cincinnati. This was inevitable since the team signed the 40-year-old veteran in the spring.

And again, for all of those you want to see Kenny Pickett as the starter, or for the Browns to repeat their awful recent history by starting a third round or fifth round rookie behind center, remember the Browns have a lot of accomplished veterans on the roster.

Make no mistake, not starting Flacco, who we would bet has the confidence of most of the team, would erode the trust players like Myles Garrett, Denzel Ward, Joel Bitonio, Wyatt Teller, and David Njoku among others, had in the head coach and for that matter the entire coaching staff.

Dillon Gabriel got his chance last weekend against the Eagles and did okay, completing 13 of 18 passes for 143 yards, really a similar type of performance to what Shedeur Sanders did in week one. The big difference was the two turnovers, whether or not whose fault it was, the Browns turned the ball over way too much last season, and they can’t have it this year.

The bottom line is Gabriel was out there for two series where the offense turned it over. Fair or not, that has to be taken into consideration.

While everyone wants to talk QB, if this team is going to exceed the not-so-great expectations the experts have put on them, it’s going to be because of the defense. It was encouraging to hear about the pass rush in the organized practices against a pretty solid Eagles’ offensive line.

Remember, they will start two rookies in DT Mason Graham and LB Carson Schwesinger. If the secondary can hold up their part of the bargain, the defense will keep the Browns in most games.

One guy we continue to watch is running back Ahmani Marshall, who gained 25 yards in six carries against Philadelphia. If you want to have a power running game, which Stefanski likes, we would rather have bigger backs, and Marshall, an undrafted free agent out of Appalachian State, is 6’1″ and 225 pounds.

The unsigned second round draft pick, Quinshon Judkins, weighs 221 lbs. The other rookie runner Cleveland drafted, Dylan Sampson is a smaller, “change of pace” back, listed at 5’8″, 200 pounds.

The incumbent, Jerome Ford, is kind of in between Judkins, Marshall, and Sampson at 5’10” and 210 pounds. Remember, Nick Chubb was listed at 227.

We get the whole pre-season thing, and we’ve never been a fan of Ford because although he’s a home run threat, he does get the four or five runs in between the tackles, but maybe you can get a draft pick for Ford, who is on the last year of his contract anyway.

Only one more of these games left, although this week we will likely see all four quarterbacks get some playing time because Flacco wants to play a series or two. After that, fans will likely see a lot of players fighting to make an NFL team.

Then the Bengals come in to start the season.

Training Camp Is Here, Let the QB Debate Continue

It’s that time of year. The time of year when Cleveland sports talk can go wild.

Yes, the Cleveland Browns will open training camp soon. In fact, the rookies have already reported to Berea to officially begin their NFL careers. And because it is northeast Ohio, Mason Graham, the fifth overall pick in last spring’s NFL Draft may be under less scrutiny than anyone picked that high will ever be focused on.

Because in this town, we are obsessed with who will play quarterback this season. Will it be one of two rookies, both drafted later in the selection process, one in Round three and the other in Round five?

Or will it be the 40-year-old former Super Bowl winner who rescued the 2023 season for Cleveland winning games down the stretch and taking the Browns to the playoffs?

Perhaps the Browns can turn to a former first round pick by the Steelers in 2022, who has a career record as a starter of 15-10, but last year was a backup for the Super Bowl champions?

Most likely, coach Kevin Stefanski’s choice will be one of the latter choices. It is hard to see him going with a rookie after last season’s 3-14 debacle.

Although Stefanski has guided the Browns to two playoff appearances in his five years at the helm, he and GM Andrew Berry should be on the hot seat after last year’s performance.

The scuttlebutt says they are safe, but it is difficult to see the pair surviving another year like 2024. And really, if Cleveland finishes 4-13 in ’25 and has a pair (they have Jacksonville’s first round pick from the draft day trade) of top ten picks, would you really want Berry making those selections?

We understand the speculation of “seeing what Kenny Pickett has” from the media, but if your job was on the line, and assuming Joe Flacco isn’t throwing the football to the defense on a regular basis in practice, wouldn’t you rather have the proven veteran under center to start the season?

We look forward to hearing about the daily progress of the rookies, Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders, how many completions out of how many throws in drills, and of course, the inevitable discussion of whether or not one of them should start after a solid performance in a pre-season game.

Because no doubt, they will play a lot in the exhibition contests. We are sure Pickett will also see some time, and perhaps Flacco will even make an appearance too, although we would expect him not to see the field all that often.

Everyone knows what Flacco can do by this point in his career.

Maybe Stefanski and Berry have been assured by ownership they are safe no matter what happens this season, and the 2025 campaign is all about getting clarification on the quarterback position before next year’s draft.

If so, that’s a bold choice from a franchise whose motto seems to be “free beer tomorrow”.

It would also be a slap in the face to veterans like Myles Garrett, Denzel Ward, Joel Bitonio, Wyatt Teller, David Njoku, and others. Those guys want to win.

Our guess is Stefanski will want this edition of the Browns to run the ball, run the ball, and do more running of the ball and have Jim Schwartz work his magic with the defense to win football games, especially during the tough stretch to open the year.

Yep, it’s football time in Cleveland.

QB Or No, Browns Need Offensive Help In Draft

Most of the recent debate about the second overall pick in the NFL Draft for the Cleveland Browns is whether or not they should take a quarterback or Penn State’s edge rusher Abdul Carter.

Most analysts say Carter is one of the top three players eligible for the selection process, while those same pundits have the top two quarterbacks, Cam Ward and Shadeur Sanders, outside of the top ten.

However, because QB is so important, every year, passers ranked lower than many players at other positions get taken higher because if you don’t have one, you need to get one.

Carter might wind up being a fine pro, possibly a Pro Bowl player, and certainly could be a fine addition to any NFL team. However, the Browns’ defense ranked 19th in the league in yards allowed last season, 13th in sacks, and 9th in pressuring the quarterback.

They allowed the 5th most points, but we will get to that later.

On the other hand, the Browns’ offense was 28th in yards gained, dead last in points scored, and was the 4th worse rushing team in the NFL. And they also turned it over more than any other team in the league except for Tennessee, who they were tied with at 34.

Simply put, the offense has to improve.

If Cleveland isn’t sold on Sanders at #2 (assuming Ward will be the first overall pick), then they need to trade down, get more picks, and get some players who can help on the offensive side of the football.

The Browns have an aging offensive line, although they did sign Teven Jenkins, who has started 38 games in his four-year career, including 14 starts a year ago. They have one solid wide receiver in Jerry Jeudy, and the running back spot also needs an upgrade.

For years, the Browns had Nick Chubb, perhaps the best (in our opinion, the best) runner in the league. Last year, Jerome Ford led the team in rushing with a paltry 565 yards, but he doesn’t consistently get the four or five yards on first down needed in Kevin Stefanski’s offense.

He is kind of a home run hitter, capable of breaking off a long one, but again, lacks consistency.

By the way, we still want the Browns to sign Chubb because of what he means to the franchise, and also to see what he can be after another off-season of rehab on his knee.

Yes, the Browns ran an offensive scheme last season totally unlike anything they ran under Stefanski since he arrived as head coach. And with Ken Dorsey gone, all indications are they are going back to that style of attack.

But they need to upgrade the talent on offense and still get a quarterback somewhere in the first round. This is a draft supposedly loaded with running backs, so could they trade out of #2, draft a back at say around #10, and trade back into the first round, albeit late, to get a young QB?

That could be a possible scenario. We would like to get more choices in the draft, because the Browns need to get younger and faster on both sides of the ball.

Yes, another pass rusher would be nice. We have said too often it appeared the team’s plan was for Myles Garrett to get there. There was no “Plan B”.

But you have to score more points and have a respectful offense. One of the reasons for the high total of points allowed by the Browns is the offense couldn’t stay on the field and turned it over way too much.

Cleveland’s offense was dreadful in 2024. That shouldn’t be swept under the rug.

Talking Leadership (Or Lack Of It) In Cleveland Sports

Leadership is a tricky thing. You can’t quantify it, and we know there are classes which teach it, it is really something you have to be comfortable with.

For the Cleveland Guardians, there is no question that Jose Ramirez is their leader on the field. Ramirez plays the game the right way and even though he’s had several top five MVP finishes, and is likely headed to Cooperstown, he still plays like he did when he was a rookie.

If you are a guy who doesn’t play much and you see Ramirez doing that, no doubt you will do the same, or you won’t be around long. Add in that he also talks to teammates during games, telling them what to look for and giving them tips on how to be better, and it is a perfect combination.

For the Cavaliers, Donovan Mitchell had a meeting with Kenny Atkinson before the season started and they discussed reducing his minutes and “workload”, thus empowering his teammates. Mitchell did just that and you see him during games encouraging and cajoling the other players.

That’s leadership.

On a team, no one has to step up and say he’s the leader. The other players know who it is. One thing we always say is a leader doesn’t have to say he’s the leader, in fact, someone who tells you they are the leader usually isn’t.

Which brings us to the Cleveland Browns. We had an interesting discussion the other way with someone who didn’t like the Browns paying Myles Garrett what they did because he’s not a leader.

Our response was it would be nice if your best player was the leader, like in the case of the Guardians and Cavaliers, but it’s not a necessity. The Browns are paying Garrett because of his ability, the fact that every team has to gameplan for him. And that’s alright.

It’s an issue for the local football team because there is a serious leadership void throughout the organization. We have recently referenced the phrase “collaborative effort” when it comes to decision making. That approach does not foster leadership for anyone.

In the recent NFLPA poll, head coach Kevin Stefanski received a grade of C from the players. We don’t know how many players on the Browns responded to the poll, but a few people we have talked to said the grade could stem from none of the players knowing who is in charge.

Is it Stefanski and GM Andrew Berry? Is it Jimmy Haslam? Or even the mysterious Paul DePodesta? Who is the ultimate guy? Perhaps the players feel that void.

It was very telling that backup quarterback Jameis Winston spoke to the team before games. The starting QB didn’t have that gravitas.

Does the organization not want any vocal leaders? They don’t seem to have drafted any recently. Is that because Stefanski doesn’t want or like players like this.

Going back to the Guardians, Terry Francona always liked a veteran player in the clubhouse to echo what he wanted, so it was better coming from a fellow player. It was important to have Jason Giambi and Mike Napoli on the team for that reason.

The Browns haven’t had that. Yes, everyone in the locker room respects Nick Chubb for his work ethic and toughness, but he doesn’t seem like a vocal presence.

Filling the leadership void might be the biggest need the Browns need to address. It is just as important, if not more important than the measurables.

Garrett Situation Just Gets Stranger

The longer the NFL off-season goes, the weirder and weirder the situation with the Cleveland Browns gets. On Friday it was reported that owner Jimmy Haslam refused to meet with All-Pro DE Myles Garrett.

Now, we understand organizational hierarchy and if say, Greg Newsome asked to meet with the owner, the request should be turned down and have the player talk to GM Andrew Berry.

But it is also true that superstars get different treatment, so to us, when the best defensive player the franchise has had in 65 years asks to meet with the owner, we think he has earned that right.

Now, let’s also remember right now, we would do exactly what the Browns are doing with Garrett, which is nothing. And to repeat what we’ve written before; we would let the situation play out throughout the summer and see what transpires.

We have also maintained the Browns need to fix this situation, and really, there’s only one person who can do that, Jimmy Haslam.

We know what has been published about Garrett’s issues with the Browns, but it is all in general terms. He doesn’t like the direction of the franchise; he doesn’t want to go through a rebuilding process. Those are generalities.

What exactly does he want? To repeat, if he wants Berry gone, we’d do it. Heck, he might want the Browns to change how they select players, feeling they need more guys who eat, drink, and breathe football.

He may also have some ridiculous demands, things the organization simply cannot agree to, and they will have to agree there is an impasse.

Remember that Garrett has no leverage. He is under contract for two more years and then the Browns can use the franchise tag for two more seasons. His only option is to retire, something older supporters of the team can relate to (see Jim Brown 1966).

We still think there is a solution that can be reached, but the way to do it is through communication. Garrett obviously feels more comfortable with speaking directly to the man who signs his checks, and perhaps, as some have pointed out, one of his issues is the GM, the guy Haslam wants him to talk to.

It would be kind of an odd dynamic if Garrett spoke to Berry and said, “yeah, I think you are pretty terrible at your job”.

Our gut feeling is Garrett has an issue with the leadership of the franchise, as in, he doesn’t know who is leading it.

Players know more than people give them credit for. We are sure the players looked at replacing Alex Van Pelt and Stump Mitchell and figure Kevin Stefanski didn’t really want to do that. So that creates a problem for the head coach.

Our other comment is about Garrett seeming to be putting more and more heat on the Browns. They literally could not have done anything yet. The league year doesn’t begin until this week. This leads us to believe the defensive end’s issue is with the front office.

He doesn’t trust them and frankly, most of the fans don’t either.

The Browns can talk about a collaborative process and a chain of command, but the man who can repair things with Myles Garrett is the man who doesn’t want to meet with him.

We will repeat what we said a couple of weeks ago. Fix it!

No Rush To Make A Move With Myles

There’s an old adage sports reporters use when they are asked who they want to win in a specific game or series. Most times they say “I’m rooting for the story”.

We think that where several sports media people in Cleveland are on the Myles Garrett situation.

Many of these folks say the Browns have to make a decision on Garrett as soon as possible, hopefully when the new league year starts in March.

We say what’s the hurry, other than it provides conversation for sports talk stations.

First, we are not salary cap experts, but we have read several articles from people who understand it and the Browns would take an enormous cap hit by trading Garrett. Factor in the consequences of Deshaun Watson contract and any move involving a trade is very difficult for the franchise.

Second, no doubt the Browns don’t want the situation to get contentious with their All-Pro defensive end, but Garrett really doesn’t have much leverage. He’s under contract for two more years, so if the Browns don’t trade him and he still wants to play football in 2025, he’s playing in Cleveland.

Again, neither side wants it to go that way.

However, there is no reason to rush to make a move with Myles Garrett.

Many people suggest the draft is a good time for a move but think about it from the team trading for the pass rusher’s point of view. Do you think they would rather deal a pick in this year’s selection process or next year’s draft?

Because if you wait until after the draft, you can’t deal a 2025 selection, you’ve pushed it out to ’26. Tell us what team wouldn’t prefer that.

After the draft is kind of a dead period for the NFL. There are the optional and mandatory mini camps, but no football is being played at that time. No wins and no losses.

So, from our viewpoint there is no rush to do anything with Garrett until training camps open in late July. That gives the Browns five months to discuss their plans for the next two or three years with Garrett and get him back on board with the franchise.

And that’s what we would do. We heard David Njoku and Denzel Ward talk last week about how much they wanted Garrett in brown and orange, and the Browns should encourage more of those conversations.

In that time period, you could have a great draft adding a lot of pieces Garrett might find interesting. The Browns could upgrade the quarterback position and Kevin Stefanski could show him how the team can return to the record they had just a little over a year ago when they made the playoffs.

The point is there is no rush to make a move. We’ve all heard the expression that time heals all wounds, and time is the one thing Jimmy Haslam, Andrew Berry, and Stefanski have.

Whatever happens with Garrett will alter the future of the Cleveland Browns. Being patient for that reason alone is the smartest decision.

Garrett Requests A Trade. Browns Need To Fix It

Only the Cleveland Browns could have a 3-14 season and have the off-season be worse than the actual season. But that’s where it seems we are after the franchise’s best player; Myles Garrett requested a trade.

We guess it is semantics, but Garrett asked to be moved, he didn’t demand it. People who know this stuff better than us feel it would be another huge hit on the salary cap to trade the All-Pro defensive end, which may preclude making the move.

Garrett has two years left on his current contract, so if push comes to shove, the Browns could play hard ball and refuse to trade him, making Garrett decide whether or not he is going to sit out a season.

It would also be stupid for it to come to that.

Our advice to the Browns’ front office? Put together your collaborative process (sarcasm intended) and fix this. And the sooner, the better.

We would even go as far as to say this. In his public statement requesting a deal, the former first overall pick gave a little tweak to GM Andrew Berry using the latter’s “Cleveland to Canton” comment. If Garrett’s issue is with Berry, it’s an easy solution for us, hire a new general manager.

Berry is easily more replaceable than the best defensive player the franchise has had over the last 65 years.

We understand that Garrett’s request got all of the football fans in northeast Ohio who crave and worship draft picks all excited. That’s what they love. But the reality is anyone you draft with one of the picks you get will not be as good as Myles Garrett.

And that’s not a slap at the front office either. Garrett has already won the Defensive Player of the Year last season and is up for the award this season. He’s arguably the best defensive player in the NFL.

The Browns could get 20 first round picks in return and not get anyone as good as Myles Garrett.

As for Garrett’s desire to play important games, let’s be honest about this, how many games would the Browns have won in 2024 with competent quarterback play? They certainly wouldn’t have been 3-14. Cleveland started 10 contests with Deshaun Watson, Dorian Thompson-Robinson, and Bailey Zappe behind center.

They were 2-5 with Jameis Winston, so is it out of the realm of possibility to think they could have gone 6-11 with Winston starting the whole season? If you agree, then that makes to trip back to the playoffs in 2025 shorter.

We understand Browns’ fans and media alike love to play the “woe is us” card. But there is talent on this roster. Denzel Ward and Jerry Jeudy made the Pro Bowl (such that it is), and the offensive line needs some tweaks, but there are solid players there.

David Njoku is a good player too, and Mike Hall and Isaiah McGuire look like they have talent. And don’t forget, the Browns have a first-round pick for the first time in four years and four picks in the top 100 of this year’s draft.

And going back to the offense Kevin Stefanski likes to run should cause an improvement as well.

There is a long time between now and the beginning of training camp, so the front office is on the clock. Fix this issue with Myles Garrett. End of discussion.

When It Comes Down To It, Have To Find A QB

While the real Super Bowl will take place a week from Sunday, for Browns’ fans the crazy season has started, and because of the Deshaun Watson trade, it has been a long time coming.

The NFL Draft will be here in late April and Cleveland has the second overall pick, and of course, they need a quarterback.

The popular opinion among many fans and media people is to trade down because the next Andrew Luck, Peyton Manning or Joe Burrow is not in this selection cycle. Of course, both of these groups have no input in the process and they both love picks, and the more, the merrier.

And their jobs are not on the line. However, Andrew Berry and Kevin Stefanski’s probably are. Let’s say they don’t fix the quarterback situation for 2025 either by not getting a capable veteran or a young guy waiting in the wings for the future. Then they are likely on the unemployment line following next season.

Keep in mind, Berry and Stefanski have both been at the Shrine Game and the Senior Bowl and they aren’t there to watch wide receivers and/or linebackers. They are talking to the QB prospects at both All-Star games.

Because they have to get that position right.

Bill Belichick used to love when other teams reached for quarterbacks in the draft because it pushed good players down to where New England picked. Of course, he had Tom Brady, creating a perfect scenario.

When you don’t have a QB, you simply have to get one. The easy thing for many people is to wait for the generational talent to appear the year the Browns happen to have a high draft pick. But that’s not reality.

Cleveland has the opportunity to get one of the two best QB prospects coming into the NFL this season. It’s Berry’s and Stefanski’s job to find out who those players are and take one of them. Right now, the consensus is those passers are Shadeur Sanders and Cam Ward, but maybe going through the process, they like someone else.

If the latter is the case, perhaps they can trade down a couple of spots and still get their guy, but they better know what the other teams they drop behind in the process are going to do.

For us, we like Quinn Ewers out of Texas. He has started 36 games at the college level and has guided his team to the playoffs the past two seasons. He’s completed 65% of his passes at Texas in his three years as a starter.

But the question we can’t answer is how he reads defenses, the most important skill a QB can have. That’s what Berry and Stefanski need to find out.

All that said, the ideal situation would still be to find a veteran quarterback who can come in and start next season, while the rookie sits, learns, and maybe gets a start or two at the end of the season.

Trading down, getting a pass rusher to pair with Myles Garrett, getting another shutdown corner, all of those things are important. But the Browns have to find a QB and they need to keep taking swings until they find one.

That’s NFL reality.

With Pick #2, Gotta Go QB

The Cleveland Browns will have the second overall pick in this spring’s NFL Draft. No doubt the area’s sports talk show will devote hundreds upon hundreds of hours discussing who the team should take with that selection.

The Browns need to draft a quarterback. They have to find the right person after all these years and properly get him ready to be the starter for many years to come.

We aren’t going to pretend we are football scouts and tell everyone who should be the choice. And if the Browns would have stayed around the fifth overall pick, we would have advised trading down because the team needs to get younger and faster.

Currently, the organization has 23 players 29 or older on the team. True, two of them, Dustin Hopkins and Charley Hughlett are specialists, and another, Rodney McLeod, is retiring, but there are many key players in that group.

Among them are Joel Bitonio, who may retire, Jack Conklin, Wyatt Teller, Ethan Pocic, Juan Thornhill, and Nick Chubb. And of course, the best player on the roster and the best defensive player in the league, Myles Garrett.

Another one is Deshaun Watson, but he likely will never play another down in the brown and orange, so there’s that.

When you finish 3-14 you have holes in your roster, but in listing those players, you can see more holes are about to pop up in the not-too-distant future.

But since they moved up to second, you have to identify and draft a quarterback and then be patient enough to probably not use him for the 2025 campaign.

We are aware two rookie QBs have guided their squads to the post-season in Jayden Daniels with Washington and Bo Nix in Denver. And yes, C.J. Stroud has guided the Texans to the playoffs in each of his first two seasons.

Still, more often than not, rookies struggle at the most important position in sports, so getting an opportunity to sit and watch and be mentored should be the plan.

Everyone talks about two passers in particular, Colorado’s Shadeur Sanders and Miami’s Cam Ward.

Sanders played two years at Jackson State and then two years at Colorado, while Ward started two seasons Washington State, before transferring to the Hurricanes this season.

Both have played a lot of college football, much like Daniels and Nix.

There are others who could and probably will put their names in the conversation.

We aren’t sure who will be deemed worthy of the selection by the Browns, but we do know we will hear ad nauseum about their personal workout days when they throw passes without a defense present, and media folks and fans will ooh and aah about guys completing 63 of 65 passes.

We could do the same in our backyard.

A former college quarterback once told me the most important thing a QB needs to do if read defenses. It doesn’t matter if you have a big arm or not, or how mobile you are if you know what the defense is going to do and can counter it.

As for the Browns, they can’t keep trying to patch a flat tire at that position. Many people thought they solved the problem when they drafted Baker Mayfield, but for whatever reason, the organization soured on him.

It says volumes that the last “franchise” player at the spot was Bernie Kosar, and he was drafted in 1985.

It’s time to identify and pick a player who can handle the spot for the next ten years. It just has to be done.