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Far be it for me to criticize you Wunkle, but I’m seeing a common theme with your mock as well as a ton of others that I disagree with; that’s any QB being drafted in the top 5 this season. I just don’t see it happening. Mariotta and Winston are both very good college QB’s, but I don’t see either as having enough NFL potential to go in the top 5. Personally (and I say this as an FSU fan) I wouldn’t draft Winston until the 3rd round. He’s not intelligent, and that’s a big problem for an NFL QB. He’s also going to be a ton of trouble for whatever team he goes to. He has more red flags than Manziel and will have even greater difficulty transitioning to the NFL. Honestly this might be one of those very rare years when no QB is drafted in the 1st round. These guys just don’t ‘wow’ me at all.
The quarterback is the single most important position on the field. The teams drafting at the top of the draft are there for a reason – they’re not good football teams, and part of that is because they don’t have a franchise caliber quarterback. Until you get a franchise quarterback, your team will consistently struggle. That’s why you see so many quarterbacks drafted high and (subsequently) why so many draft busts at the position. Remember the 2011 draft where it was basically Cam Newton and the rest of the crop? Jake Locker, Blaine Gabbert and Christian Ponder all went within the top twelve – which was way early for all three of them – while the likes of Andy Dalton, Colin Kaepernick and Ryan Mallett went in the second and third rounds. NFL teams are so desperate for that missing link that they’re willing to throw millions of dollars at an if-come.
Of the free agents from that 2011 class, I’m guessing that only Mallett and possibly TJ Yates are the only ones I’d be interested in pursuing for Cleveland. Blaine Gabbert got shell shocked while in Jacksonville because he wasn’t ready to be thrown into live action – much the same way that David Klingler was with Cincinnati several years ago. These teams take quarterbacks so early and pay them so much money that the front office thinks they have to get an immediate return on their investment – whether the player is ready or not.
Back in 2003 the Bengals drafted Carson Palmer first overall and then did something really amazing – they made him learn from the bench during his rookie season. In 2005 the Packers drafted Aaron Rodgers as the eventual heir apparent to Brett Favre. Rodgers sat two seasons behind Favre and was ready to take over the offense in year three.
As to your thoughts on this year’s crop of quarterbacks . . . It would be better off for both Winston and Mariota to not be drafted in the first round at all. That way there wouldn’t be so much pressure from a fiscal standpoint to rush them out onto the field in real game situations. However, we both know that’s not going to happen. Both of these quarterbacks will be taken early in the draft. The only question that remains is “Which teams will take them and where?”
Am I going mad, or did the word THINK escape your lips? You were not hired for your brains, you hippopotamic landmass!
I’d say that this year’s first rd strategy for the Browns is completely up in the air. No one really knows how they feel about their QB depth chart nor how they feel about bringing back Hoyer. They will draft another QB, that is almost a given.
If they don’t address the WR position in a big way this offseason, there should be a mutiny amongst the fan base. When I say “in a big way” I don’t mean that we have to make a big splash in free agency, or trade, or draft. I mean that they have to give it some priority. They can’t keep looking for the diamonds in the rough via late rd picks, undrafted free agents, or older/injured players.
Defensive line was surprisingly disappointing this year. At the beginning of the season it was widely considered to be a strength.
What happens to Buster Skrine will probably alter the off-season plan because I’m not sure who the bigger bust could be…Manziel or Gilbert. (Hopefully neither.) Regardless, there’s no way that they will be happy with the idea of Gilbert starting opposite Haden.
The quarterback is the single most important position on the field. The teams drafting at the top of the draft are there for a reason – they’re not good football teams, and part of that is because they don’t have a franchise caliber quarterback. Until you get a franchise quarterback, your team will consistently struggle. That’s why you see so many quarterbacks drafted high and (subsequently) why so many draft busts at the position.
I don’t disagree with this at all. However it doesn’t matter how important the position is, if there’s no talent there you can’t just reach and grab someone. This QB class looks as bad as last year’s if not worse. If you remember a lot of the first mocks that came out last season had JFF going #1 and Teddy Bridgewater going #2 solely because they play QB. 5 years ago that’s how NFL teams would have drafted, but we’ve seen that teams have learned the important lesson; drafting the WRONG QB highly is more likely to get you fired than drafting a stud at another position.
Ice wrote:
I don’t disagree with this at all. However it doesn’t matter how important the position is, if there’s no talent there you can’t just reach and grab someone. This QB class looks as bad as last year’s if not worse. If you remember a lot of the first mocks that came out last season had JFF going #1 and Teddy Bridgewater going #2 solely because they play QB. 5 years ago that’s how NFL teams would have drafted, but we’ve seen that teams have learned the important lesson; drafting the WRONG QB highly is more likely to get you fired than drafting a stud at another position.
And almost a year later it appears that either David Carr or Teddy Bridgewater should’ve been the first QB taken off the board and Johnny shouldn’t have gone until at least the third round. Quarterback is by far the toughest position to correctly evaluate and project to the next level. As far as this year’s crop is concerned, it appears that it’s Winston and Mariota at the top of the QB class and then there’s a severe drop off from there. I totally agree with you that you shouldn’t take a QB if he’s not worthy of the selection because it can set your franchise back as much as five years with the guaranteed money and salary cap hit. The only problem is that you’ve got football people being pressured by ownership to get “the guy” – even if “the guy” is nowhere to be found in the draft. The Browns are in the unenviable position of having to stick with a quarterback that got caught up in his own hype machine because the owner stepped in and told Farmer and Pettine to move up and get him. Jimmy Haslam needs to let the people that he hired do their collective jobs without any outside interference.
Am I going mad, or did the word THINK escape your lips? You were not hired for your brains, you hippopotamic landmass!
I would be extremely happy if that turned out to be our draft. Due to lack of QB talent in this draft, I believe our biggest need is DL. Games are won and lost in the trenches.
Freedom!!!
Some help at WR wouldn’t be a bad thing (which this draft does address).
I remember before last season thinking our D-line was overcrowded and that we should trade someone. Then at the end of the season half the defense was on injured reserve. Lesson learned; there’s no such thing as too much depth.
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