ASK WUNKLE: 2017 PRE-DRAFT EDITION

With the 2017 NFL draft literally weeks away, I thought it appropriate to give our members/viewership an opportunity to ask their draft related questions. So without any further delay, let’s get this show on the road.

Dawg E. Dawg leads off with . . .

From your many posts, you’ve made it clear you were a Carson Wentz guy. So, my question is, if given the chance today, would you undo that trade? As a reminder, here are the players/picks involved in that trade and subsequent trades made from that trade:

Clevaland Gave Up:
Carson Wentz
2017 Round 5, Pick 1
Andy Janovich (FB)

Cleveland Received:
Corey Coleman (WR)
Shon Coleman (OT)
Cody Kessler (QB)
Joe Schobert (OLB)
2017 No. 12
2017 No. 52
Eagles 2nd Round Pick 2018

That is an excellent lead off question, Dawg E. Dawg. Let me first say that – if you’re going to give up the second overall pick – you had better get a boat load of picks in return. That said, the quarterback is the single most important position on a football team; and when you have the opportunity to take that franchise quarterback, you do it. Now it remains to be seen whether Shon Coleman, Cody Kessler and Joe Schobert are going to be anything more than back-up players because they need more time to develop. And while Corey Coleman has flashed some, we still don’t know if he can physically hold up to the rigors of a 16-game NFL regular season plus four pre-season games.

Sashi Brown and company have done a very good job of stockpiling draft picks; but it remains to be seen whether they can draft effectively because last draft was basically a trial run.

To answer your question . . . give me the franchise quarterback.

Ice is next with this question . . .

Assume you decided to go all defensive in the 1st round… what defensive player would you take at 12?

Given the fact that this draft is top heavy with quality defensive players, that’s not outside the realm of possibilities. I’m looking for the Browns to look at all possibilities – including trading up or down. That said, then these are the defenders I would consider . . .

Reuben Foster –  LB – Alabama: an incident at combine may make him available.

Marshon Lattimore – CB – Ohio State: probably wishful thinking that he’s still on the board here; but if he is, then the Browns have to take him.

Malik Hooker – S – Ohio State: his injury, surgery and subsequent rehab may cause teams to shy away from him. If he can regain full range of motion, then he is hands down the best safety in this draft.

Hassan Reddick – LB – Temple: played as a DE in college, but might be the next great NFL sideline-to-sideline MLB.

There are others I haven’t mentioned here, simply because I think they’ll definitely be off the board.

Dawgstyle asks . . .

How would you address the QB position moving forward. Do you think trading for Jimmy G, kicking the tires on Brock O. or drafting a guy this year/next year (I’m thinking Sam Darnold from USC) would be the next bet.

I’m very hesitant about giving up a boatload of picks for a QB that’s played only two or three games – no matter how good he looked in them. As for the draft, there should be one available at 12. Whether or not it’s the guy that Hue’s targeting remains to be seen. This might be the year to try and develop someone that’s got the physical traits, but not a lot of college game experience. That said, if the Browns targeted QB is already off the board at 12; I think it’s a real possibility that they take Davis Webb in one of the subsequent rounds. There’s no QB in this draft worth the first overall pick. As for Brock Osweiler . . . he’s on the roster now, and he’s currently the best QB on the roster. He certainly couldn’t be any worse than RGIII was last season. Regardless of what the Browns plan on doing with Brock, they still need to draft a QB and continue to do so until they strike gold.

His follow up question reads . . .

How much would you pay for Jimmy G, or if you chose to draft, who would you take (and when – how do you think the draft will unfold for this year’s QB class?).

The most I would pay for Jimmy G is our second pick in the second plus one of our second rounder picks next year – but only if the Browns are convinced that he’s the guy. Personally, I really don’t think that he’s available and I don’t think he’s the guy. As for the draft picks . . . I think they’re going to take one 12th overall. One QB will likely go in the top ten – either Mitch Trubisky or DeShone Kizer – and the Browns will take the second one off the board. If Any team wants one of those two, they’d better move up ahead of Cleveland.

Next up, Shooter chimes in with . . .

What’s more important, getting that “franchise QB” in this draft, or building a team that’s established that you can plug a rookie QB into and have immediate success at a later time? (A la Ben Roethlisberger, who inherited a veteran laden team with a dominant defense that asked him to do very little when he stepped in as a rookie, went deep into the playoffs that year, and won it all in his 2nd).

If that franchise QB is in this draft, then you have to get him now. If not, then you have to continue to build the roster around him by taking impact players early and often until you get him. Unfortunately, with the Browns history of drafting since 1999, neither is a stone cold lead pipe lock because they’ve wasted so many draft picks in general and high picks in particular. Let’s face it, Shooter, this team basically has the roster of an expansion team – less four of the projected starting O-linemen, Jamie Collins, Gary Barnidge and Isaiah Crowell. That’s a LOT different than what the Steelers had surrounding Big Ben in his rookie season. This team just needs to start drafting real talent and developing it. If a QB is in the mix this year, then fine. If not, then that’s fine too. Just get players that can actually play for a freaking change.

And a long follow up . . .

I’ve been a strong proponent of drafting a QB at 12 this year, regardless of who it is (albeit, among Watson/Trubisky/Mahomes group). At the same time, in the past I’ve pretty much always been the guy to rip another guys head off over the thought of drafting a QB just to draft him. That line of thinking of “you need to draft one because you don’t have one” has grated me to no end, and there’s plenty of Christian Ponders, EJ Manuels and Brandon Weedens to list as examples that prove that doing it “just because” is stupid and careless, not to mention destructive and wasteful. It seems that my opinions have landed me at a crossroads between practicality and hypocrisy. Being as pragmatic as possible, what’s the best course of action in regards to the QB situation?

I feel your pain, Shooter. Unfortunately, there’s no easy solution. If you don’t have a franchise QB, you have to draft or trade until you get one. That’s where talent evaluation comes in. If none of the QB’s in this class are worthy of a first round pick, then you don’t take one. The easiest thing to do is overdraft a quarterback because the league is so quarterback driven. What matters right now is that the Browns get real players instead of draft busts.

Ice just had to chime in one more time with . . .

Talk to me about QB options besides the ‘big 4’ that might be available in the 3rd and later rounds. Any starting potential? Where would you shop if the big 4 are not around.

By the big four I’m assuming you mean Trubisky, Kizer, Watson and Mahomes. You can decide on order of preference. Keep in mind that these would be my projections and not necessarily how it goes down later this month. Four guys intrigue me outside the top four, and none of them should go until at least round three . . .

Nathan Peterman – Pittsburgh: undersized for the position, but has been in an NFL style offense. He reminds me a lot of Brian Hoyer in that he’ll probably have a decent career as an NFL backup.

Brad Kaaya – Miami (FL): tall but skinny, like last year’s first overall pick (Jared Goff). Needs to pit on muscle mass and will need a couple years to develop before you can see what he really has to offer. Mechanics need work and isn’t used to taking the snap from under center.

Davis Webb – California: Jared Goff’s replacement. Has a more prototypical NFL QB body and seems to have the arm and the smarts for the position. He’ll need to sit a year to get used to the NFL game, but I think he has a real chance to succeed as a starting NFL QB. Mechanics pretty good, but not quite there yet.

Joshua Dobbs – Tennessee: probably the smartest kid in the draft, this kid’s major is in Aerospace Engineering. I think he has the smarts to absorb the concepts within an NFL playbook. He’s tall enough with a big enough arm, but still a little lean.  That problem can be solved with a year in an NFL conditioning program. Might be this year’s Dak Prescott in terms of being a surprise rookie QB. Like most of these kids, his mechanics also needs some work.

Back to Dawg E. Dawg with . . .

Dave in Barberton closes out the questions with . . .

You mentioned in your “Where’s Wunkle” article that you’ve taken up target shooting at a pistol range. I’d like to know (a) are you doing it for competitive target shooting or self defense; (b) did you buy a pistol yet, and if so (c) what did you get and why?

Wow! That one came out of left field. That’s a great question, though. Oddly enough, it all started when my wife and daughter went out with some of their lady friends and took a class on gun safety. The Mrs. came back really excited about the possibility that we could do this as a family activity. I thought, “Sure we can give it a try (even though the last time I’d pulled a trigger, it was something that had the word “Daisy” stamped on it”. Next thing you know, we’re renting different pistols at a number of different ranges;  as far South as Obetz and as far North as Mentor because some ranges had pistols for rent that others didn’t.

The primary reason was to have a fun family activity, but it’s since turned into having an end desire to have conceal carry permits for us all. Since we first started, I’ve purchased a Sig Sauer P238; which is a subcompact single action alloy frame 1911 style pistol that’s chambered in 380ACP. My wife took a slightly different route. Although she also bought a Sig Sauer, she opted for the P320 compact; which is a striker fired dual action only polymer frame pistol chambered in 9mm with a removable chassis. Although I was comfortable shooting a number of pistols I tried, I bought the P238 because its size offers versatility as to how and where to carry it for when I do get my CCW. My wife bought hers because it absorbs recoil quite well and she’s shoots it well. By the way, the one she picked was also on my top three list.

Always remember that any firearm is only as safe as the person holding it. Responsible firearm ownership begins with learning how to properly operate, clean and safely store it.

Well, that wraps up another edition of “Ask Wunkle”. Thanks again to everyone who submitted a question. Without you, this article would not have been possible.