Cleveland Browns Must Avoid QB at No. 8

The Cleveland Browns did a smart thing earlier this week. They shouldn’t ruin things by drafting a quarterback with a high pick.

Cheers to you for being smart, Cleveland Browns.

Unless you have decided to complete ignore any and all National Football League news until next week’s NFL Draft begins, you probably saw that the Cleveland Browns and Philadelphia Eagles recently made a trade. That deal allowed the Eagles to move up to the second overall pick of the upcoming NFL Draft, while the Browns ~~fleeced the Eagles~~ landed some much-needed additional selections in return (h/t SI.com).

It was almost hard to believe. The Browns, arguably the most inept organization in the NFL and in all of North American professional sports since 1999, had managed to get something right and make another team look inept in the process. While sports talk radio personalities such as Mike Francesa were laughing out loud regarding whatever it is the Eagles are trying to accomplish in 2016, the Browns were being praised for executing a solid deal that could benefit new Cleveland head coach Hue Jackson down the road.

So don’t blow this, Browns, by using the No. 8 overall pick on a quarterback who may not be worthy of a first-round selection by the time the first night of the draft rolls around.

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The Browns will not be selecting either Jared Goff or Carson Wentz in the 2016 NFL Draft. Any hot takes you could have had on that matter became irrelevant the second that the Eagles-Browns trade became official. Either Goff or Wentz is going first overall, the other guy will be picked by the Eagles, and the Browns will be left to examine what other players are available by the time the team’s name is first mentioned by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell next Thursday night.

Here is where the nervousness comes into play. Not long after the trade involving the Browns and the Eagles was officially announced, ESPN expert Adam Schefter took to Twitter to inform the public that the Browns could still be thinking QB with the team’s first-round pick.

Quarterback to watch for Cleveland: Paxton Lynch.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 20, 2016

With just seven words and a single click on a “Tweet” button, Schefter had spoiled happiness felt by members of the Cleveland faithful who had not had much of anything to celebrate since former Browns QB Johnny Manziel helped the Browns defeat the San Francisco 49ers back in December.

I’m sure that Paxton Lynch out of Memphis is a nice young man. I’m sure that he was able to interview well when meeting with NFL teams. Lynch may even prove himself to be a solid NFL QB at some point down the road. That’s all great.

What we know about Lynch is that he was not projected to be a first-round pick all that long ago; as in a couple of months ago and before the Browns and Eagles pulled the trigger on the trade.

NFL Draft gurus still can’t come to an agreement on where Lynch belongs in this class. Walter Football currently has Lynch falling to pick No. 28 and the Kansas City Chiefs. CBS Sports analyst Pete Prisco has Chip Kelly (CHIP KELLY!) and the 49ers spending the seventh selection on Lynch. Jared Dubin, also of CBS, has the New York Jets (the JETS!) trading with Cleveland so that Gang Green can move up to eighth and take Lynch.

None of those predictions scream “franchise QB the Browns just have to take if he is there.”

Everything that was true about the Browns holding onto pick No. 2 remains accurate now that the Browns have moved down six slots. The Browns are in no place to reach for any player with a top-ten pick, let alone a QB who may not be ready to play in 2016 and one who may not even be the third-best QB of this class.

The Browns desperately need playmakers on both sides of the football. Arguments can be made for and against the Browns selecting running back Ezekiel Elliot out of Ohio State if Elliot does fall down to the eighth pick. Doing so would, at the very least, hopefully show that the Browns held true to their draft board, took the supposed “best player available” and failed to succumb to the pressure of taking a QB just because he happened to be there.

I recently wrote the following words about the relationship that Robert Griffin III could have with the Browns and with a future rookie QB:

"RG3 is seemingly the starting QB of the Browns heading into summer training camp sessions. While it is nice that Griffin has said all of the right things since joining up with the Browns, Griffin is still attempting to save his NFL career in Cleveland.Per the terms of NFL contracts, a quarterback taken with the second overall pick would have more money guaranteed to him than what Griffin knows for sure will be coming his way from the Browns. Would Griffin really be keen on mentoring his future replacement in such a scenario?"

Lynch or any other QB taken with pick No. 8 will have less money guaranteed to him than either Goff or Wentz. That amount would still, however, be more money than the guaranteed cash Griffin can count on per his current Cleveland contract.

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“Hey, Bob. Thanks for signing. Here is your replacement who is going to make more money than you and who you are going to help eventually drive you out of town. All the best!”

Hue Jackson has been praised for being able to work his magic with QBs in the past. Jackson didn’t somehow lose this skill upon signing his Cleveland contract. Let Jackson work his magic again, Cleveland, this time with RG3 and with a QB that the Browns take after the first round of the draft concludes.