Cleveland Browns: Avoid Quarterbacks in the First Round

History makes us think the Cleveland Browns may look to take a quarterback early in the first round of the NFL Draft, but that may not be the best option for the team.

Well, it’s time for another quarterback change in Cleveland.

The Cleveland Browns have taken a quarterback in the NFL Draft every other year since 2010, including two in the first round, and their 2014 pick Johnny Manziel looks to be on the way out. With reports that Manziel was partying in Las Vegas on Saturday night in a wig and disguise (wait, what?) we have to imagine that Johnny Football will be taking his talents away from Cleveland in the not-so-distant future (via ESPN’s Pat McManamon).

So that leaves Josh McCown and Austin Davis as the Browns quarterbacks, but the team hasn’t seemed overly impressed by either of these players. McCown has had some impressive performances, but his extensive injury history and his age (36) lead us to believe that he can’t be the long-term answer in Cleveland.

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So the Browns draft a quarterback every other year, they didn’t take one last year, their quarterback situation is shaky, and they have the No. 2 pick in this year’s NFL draft. All these facts seem to point towards the Cleveland Browns drafting their next franchise quarterback in the first round.

I’m here to tell you that would be a mistake.

The 2016 NFL Draft has a few really good quarterbacks, and a few that have the tools to develop into good NFL starters, but there’s no team-saving, Andrew Luck-type player that can plug into a bad team and lead the team to the playoffs on his own. Even the consensus top two quarterbacks Paxton Lynch and Jared Goff don’t seem to be the type of players that you feel comfortable hanging your team’s hopes on from the get-go.

Goff may be the most NFL-ready prospect right now, but he’s a bit scrawny for a quarterback, meaning you have to worry about him getting injured. The Cleveland Browns gave up the second most sacks in the league (53) in 2014, so their quarterback is likely going to take a beating if they don’t fix the line.

Goff certainly knows how to take hits because his line at Cal wasn’t exactly elite, but he’ll have a hard time learning the NFL game if he spends most of his time pulling turf out of his facemask. His time at Cal also cursed him with some poor throwing mechanics, because he was often having to fire the ball quickly without stepping into his throws due to approaching pass rushers. If he doesn’t wind up with a better offensive line, he’ll never learn to break out of those bad habits.

Paxton Lynch, similarly, needs some time to develop before he should be thrust into every-week NFL action. He’s got the physical tools needed to succeed in the NFL, but he never ran a pro-style offense at Memphis. He threw a lot of screens and quick passes, and was rarely asked to make complicated reads either before or after the snap. That doesn’t mean he’s incapable, but simply that he will need a few years to learn these skills before being relied upon as a full-time starter.

Sep 12, 2015; Columbus, OH, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Cardale Jones (12) fires a pass down the field against the Hawaii Warriors at Ohio Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Greg Bartram-USA TODAY Sports

Neither of these two players would be bad in Cleveland’s system, but if the Brown spend the No. 2 overall pick on a quarterback, the expectation will be that this player will become the team’s starter sooner rather than later. Neither of these two guys, and no other quarterbacks in this draft, are really ready to step into a full-time NFL role, especially for a poor team like Cleveland.

If the Browns are set on finding a quarterback in the draft, they should target someone in later rounds who won’t be expected to come in and start Week 1 of 2016. North Dakota State’s Carson Wentz, Christian Hackenberg out of Penn State, or Connor Cook out of Michigan State could be good options for the Browns in the second or third round.

If they’re willing to wait and really feel like they could develop a quarterback, maybe grabbing Ohio State’s Cardale Jones or Western Kentucky’s Brandon Doughty in late rounds would be a good option. These players will need even more work, but both appear to have some nice physical tools for a future in the NFL.

The last thing the Browns need is another first round quarterback in the vein of Brandon Weeden, Johnny Manziel, or Brady Quinn that won’t perform well, and will part ways with the team after a few short years. Hopefully Sashi Brown and whoever the next Cleveland coach is will break the mold of drafting first round passers.

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With the emergence of Gary Barnidge and Travis Benjamin, the Browns have found some solid players at offensive skill-positions, and it would be a shame to waste these with more poor quarterback play. If I’m Cleveland, I’m filling a need on the defensive line, at linebacker, or trying to get another explosive offensive weapon before I’m taking a quarterback in the first round. The team needs to start drafting better if they want become relevant, and while everyone wants a quarterback, drafting a player that can come in and contribute immediately is vastly more important.