I'm certainly not opposed to that philosophy!! Here's the thing...I am sick and tired of being pissed off on a Sunday afternoon in the fall. I told myself this year, if the Browns don't show any promise I am going to spend my time on better things...well apparently I don't have that gene because I was pissed off for 16 weeks this fall. I want to win dammit. If we can somehow sign Kirk Cousins, a proven QB in this league over the past 3 seasons. He isn't a one year wonder whom everyone is calling to sign because his other team has a starter coming back from injury or something, ala Matt Cassel. He is legitimate NFL starter, in fact a top ten QB, not just a regular starter. THEN, using a pick in the top 4 of the draft is counter productive to helping this team win in 2018. This team can use a Minkah Fitzpatrick AND a Saquon Barkley to help Kirk Cousins win in the playoffs...not just see if we can get to .500, then turn it over to another QB next year or the year after if that #1 pick still isn't ready to start... If you sign a Cousins, you are putting together a roster to win NOW, using EVERY asset at your disposal is needed to help him succeed in winning, not just a handful of games to appease an ailing fanbase, but to win playoff games. Now, if you trade for Alex Smith, then my mindset changes...he is older and I want this to last longer than one or two seasons, so improvement is on the table, maybe not the playoffs...same with Case Keenum (didn't we just discuss one hit wonders?), I don't know that he can repeat this year's performance, so even if they go out and sign him away from Minnesota (which will be very hard to do if he wins a Super Bowl), then I would still be in favor of drafting a QB..(NO, let me revise)...drafting Baker Mayfield at #1 overall...If it isn't Cousins, I want to play the odds of finding above adequate QB play very soon.
showstopper: many people had Goff #1 also showstopper: there's no franchise qb in this (2016) draft, Goff = JAG Me:
TBH... if we sign Cousins, I'm taking Chubb at #1 and Fitzpatrick at #4. Then bundling #33 and #35 to grab Calvin Ridley.
First of all, I'm pretty sure the only reason we were able to sign Cousins is because we promised him we would take Barkley with the #1 pick. So that's done....Then we grab Fitz at #4, and work from there.
I love how Bill Polian laughed at Mel Kiper for suggesting the Browns take Josh Allen #1...If you look at the critique of Allen, it's almost identical to Deshone Kizer's from last year. He struggled because he lost his talented receivers. He has trouble making good decisions under pressure. He has issues with accuracy. Why would the Browns go down that road again?
This guy thinks he's got it all figured out....A couple of his ideas are very familiar; https://scout.com/nfl/browns/Articl...the-Browns-around-in-one-off-season-113742269
In a scenario where we trade pick 2.30 (pick from Philly) for Alex Smith, the Browns could become contenders quickly if they went all out. The key is to get Smith early in the process, so potential free agents will see that the Browns are serious...Then throw some money around: Free Agent signings: Jarvis Landry WR Kyle Fuller CB Ezekiel Ansah EDGE LaMarcus Joyner FS Terrelle Pryor WR Carlos Hyde RB DRAFT 1.1 Baker Mayfield 1.4 Trade to Buffalo for 1.21, 1.22 , 2.21 and future #1 1.21 Calvin Ridley 1.22 Top OT on the board - O. Brown, Miller, McGlinchey or Okorafor - 2.1 Derrius Guice 2.4 If Vea, Payne or Hurst slips to here, it's a no brainer...If they all gone, maybe Arden Key or Marcus Davenport.... 2.21 (from Buf) Isaiah Oliver The toughest decision was whether or not to trade down at 1.4. If I can get three #1's and a #2 from Buffalo, and I already have my QB situation set, I'm making that trade...The combination of Hyde and Guice should make up for missing out on Barkley...Also, it might be better to flip flop picks 1.22 and 2.4 depending on how the board falls. If Hurst is there at 1.22, I wouldn't pass on him.
As much as I don't particularly love the idea of trading down, this draft could very well set up for pick 1.4 to be an extremely valuable commodity. We have Denver and the Jets right behind, and who know's how many other QB hungry teams? Bill Polian thinks we will definitely trade down if we get the right offer, and he thinks we'll get more than one good offer... Bruce Arians said yesterday that this is easily the best QB class in 20 years, and there will be a lot of teams trying to trade up for them. The Browns might be able to really cash in... Of course, we've been there before, but in this case it would be much different. We would already have our QB selected at #1....Obviously much depends on how far down we'd be willing to trade... In past conversations, I know most of us have mentioned that they would rather not trade down again... The Bills are the only team that can trade us two #1's from this draft, and they need a QB. That is why I chose them for the above scenario, and they are the only team I'd be willing to trade down with, unless we are only talking about a spot or two...It would clearly cost much more than just their two first rounders this year, but if the Bills are willing to get crazy, Dorsey would be foolish not to listen...
I like it! But, I have a couple questions; o Do you really think KC would trade Alex Smith for a single 2nd round pick (2-30)? o (SHIT ! . . . From when I hit "reply" to when I got to this point, I forgot the 2nd question).
Thanks Lym...Well it's a good question. The thing that is key is he only has a year left on his deal. What is a given GM willing to trade for a guy that only has a year remaining on his deal and you have no guarantees of him extending his contract? At the end of the day, I doubt anyone offers a #1, but I can't be certain. Alex is still really good, and if a GM feels confident he will be able to extend him, he might part with a first rounder....The Browns won't. Their first rounders are way too high. Cleveland does have the most ammunition, and a GM that has an obvious tie to Alex, so I feel good about us getting it done, though I admit, it'll probably cost us our true 2nd rounder, pick 2.1....We'll see.
Sometimes these trades for veterans come for much less than ya think...How awesome would it be if Dorsey could get us Alex Smith, even if it's only for a year, for a 4th rounder? Ya just never know, especially when it comes to QB's, what his true worth is. All it takes is one GM. We do know that the Chiefs are open to trading Alex. They have made that very clear. The Chiefs (John Dorsey) gave up a shitload to land Maholmes last April, and they obviously thinks he's ready. You don't tell the world you are willing to trade your rock solid NFL starting QB, unless it is abundantly clear that the kid is ready...
Interesting tidbit from and article on Cousins Is Cleveland, the Browns, Hue Jackson and his staff the right fit? Although I'm not a huge fan of Cousins and Dorsey would have to put talent in the right places, he has enough ammo. The real question will be who can they convince to come in and take over working with the coaching staff Hue is putting together? I'm still all for drafting a QB to develop. I'm not sure that Kizer will ever be much more than a solid back up or spot starter at this point(sorry Domers). http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap30...edskins-gm-on-kirk-cousins-i-dont-see-special
Per ProFootballTalk: The Cleveland Browns in "serious talks" with Todd Haley to be our OC.... I like that.
