2016 NFL Draft - The Quarterbacks

It's funny what a good Pro Day will do to a guy...

http://www.cleveland.com/browns/index.ssf/2016/03/hue_jackson_raves_about_jared.html

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/...as-expected-jared-goff-dazzles-at-cal-pro-day

Before the end of the college season: consensus top QB, Top 5 pick
End of the college season: consensus top QB, Top 5 pick
During offseason: second best QB? still a Top 10 pick
Combine: okay, he's the best QB, but Wentz might still get picked first
After Pro Day: consensus top QB, maybe No. 1 overall pick

 

Well I have a feeling Hue is going to rave about Wentz on Friday after his pro day as well for whatever that's worth....

I think Wentz looks like the better prospect, but you might be right SAS, it wasn't long ago I favored Goff........by the time the draft gets here, who know's? Jared Goff could be the clear favorite....I'm just glad they didn't name him Jack....

 

After the Johnny fiasco, I've decided I'm not sticking my neck out for any more QB prospects.....Without knowing what kind of people they are, it's just a guess anyway....

 

No one is going to convince me that Carson Wentz should be in discussion for a Top 10 pick.

Arm strength? Above average. Not Joe Flacco small-school good. Goff actually has more throw velocity.

Mobility? Average. He's not Steve McNair small-school good. He's not Johnny Manziel or Robert Griffin III. He has accumulated rushing stats playing in a run-first offense. Goff is better in the pocket and escaping pressure.

Football acumen? I haven't seen anyone compare him to Andrew Luck. Goff? Yep.

Competition level? Not even close to Jake Coker who didn't even merit a combine invite.

I get why people might be excited about him as a prospect (and I've maintain all along that he should get drafted in the mid-20s like Flacco and to an identical situation), since he does offer intriguing physical tools. But yeah, so did Blaine Gabbert.

 

I'll admit my track record is murky... all for Robert Griffin and Johnny Manziel, both of whom didn't have issues in the talent department. Major disappointments, but due to injury/personality and off-field/personality.

I was "Captain Quinn" once we drafted him, but never advocated for him in the pre-draft process.

I'll go on record with Goff. He's a Top 5 talent (I put him at 4 because I devalue the crap out of the LT spot, unlike most folks) and I think he can be a Top 5 performing QB in the NFL.

The only reason I'm not sold on him at #2 has everything to do with the current state of the franchise and nothing to do with his ability or ceiling.

If we sign Robert Griffin, I may update the mock with Goff at #2 because I think the only way it's a smart move in my mind is if we can stave off the need to start Goff Day 1. #TimCouch

 

https://www.profootballfocus.com/bl...buckner-selected-no-1-in-2016-nfl-mock-draft/

Why, when setting up a rebuilding franchise, would you take the guy who was dramatically lower-rated than his competition?

That's like saying you want to compete in 100 meter dash, but you want to add 25 meters to your distance and give your opponents a 3 second head start.

SMH

 

Because that's a rating by some wannabes from a website looking for hits, while the Browns are using some of the more brilliant minds of our generation. If they choose Goff, it will be because they could see every aspect possible to make that decision, not because of a website list.

It's ironic (or moronic maybe) that this same site, whom I respect mind you, had Wentz going as the second QB off the board...not the 9th. So take that list for what it's worth, a misrepresentation of actual NFL aspects needed to succeed.

 

A bit ad homimen, there. Cris Collinsworth is a significant investor, they're teamed with NBC sports, their analysis is used by a lot of writers (Peter King, most notably), they routinely serve as contractors for NFL teams (19 and counting) looking for analytic data crunching and their software/data is being used more and more by coaches.

For starters, those rankings are not all draft-eligible.

Secondly, they've got Wentz off the board because, like most drafts, the QB position is going to be over-drafted and the media hype around Wentz has officially reached "ridiculous spectacle" proportions.

 

PFF lost all credibility when, in the same game, they had Matt Forte listed as the worst rated player on the team, and Shea McClellin as the highest rated. There have been far more and sometimes worse offenses, but in that moment, I realized that their ratings weren't worth reading again. PFF has continued to lose credibility in the football community over the years - fewer and fewer people are using it or citing it, and rightly so. I think criticisms of Wentz are appropriate and often accurate - I just don't lean on PFF to support them.

 

*disagrees with one game out of 3,204*

"Whelp, this is complete crap. Time to throw it out."

C'mon... no one is saying that analytics is 100% infallible but it often times presents another side to the story that is occasionally unconventional and while sometimes uncomfortable, is nonetheless legitimate.

By no means am I "leaning" on PFF.com to support my stance. It's confirmation bias. I have a pile of evidence/reasons why I think Carson Wentz is a stretch as a first round pick and an unmitigated disaster at #2 overall. PFF.com supports this notion by ranking eight of his peers ahead of him in terms of overall passing ability/efficiency.

It's just another arrow in my quiver.

 

Please re-read the bolded. I would have cited all instances out of "3,204" games, but... no, I wouldn't have.

In no circumstance was Matt Forte the worst Chicago Bear, and Shea McClellin the best. Get the hell out of here.

PFF sources their numbers from guys sitting on their couches tallying totals of markers they've pre-determined they're looking for. Can you call it a source? Sure. Is it usually a bad one? Absolutely.

As the great Phil Emery once said, "I love PFF. I use them in all our personnel decisions".

I think there is plenty wrong with Carson Wentz. PFF is not a good source. As you said, this is "confirmation bias" for you. I, unbiased, am telling you it's a bad "arrow in your quiver".

 

A cursory internet search did not pop anything up regarding that claim.

It might have been his clunker against Detroit where he averaged 2.88 YPC and fumbled.

You're free to not cite or use their statistics, but with people who are involved in football for a living rely on them, they're probably not the lackey couch potatoes with "bad sources" you are calling them out to be.

 

Oh, so you do know what Phil Emery relying on PFF looks like. So my point is made.

 

After the Los Angeles Rams' trade to #1 overall, speculation surrounding the pick was towards Wentz. Vic Carucci speculating that the Browns are getting the QB they wanted all along - Jared Goff.

While the Rams are saying they "don't know", there's zero chance a team moves to #1 overall and then starts doing homework. The refusal to name Wentz the pick now is likely deference to the NFL by not ruining the draft-day surprise.

If so, the Browns are getting the better QB prospect and, per Carucci, the guy they've valued all along. A pretty good day for the Browns.

 

OK, so the QB position has been addressed and we shall now rest our faith on two new names on the roster...

I'll start with the draft

Round 3, Pick No. 93: Cody Kessler, QB, USC

Kessler completed 67.5 percent as a three-year starter for USC, with 88 touchdowns and just 19 interceptions. He's 6-foot-1 and 215 pounds. In his career he threw for 10,339 yards. He also played in multiple look NFL offenses, with 4 different USC head coaches. If nothing else, it shows his versatility/adaptability. Isn't that something that would have come in handy in Cleveland the past several years?

Does he have a pro arm? Well, it depends on what you consider a pro arm really...In today's magnifying glass approach to the NFL draft there are MANY prospects year in and year out that are touted as having a pro level arm...MOST of which wash out as a pro level player because they can't do the other things needed to succeed. Cody Kessler has shown the type of accuracy in college, that if they can find what he did right his Junior year and replicate it, he would easily finish in the top 5 in the NFL in that category...In fact, had he replicated that Junior year in 2015, he most likely would have been, at worst, a second round draft pick in 2016.

I see, at worse, Andy Dalton/Kirk Cousins production from Kessler.

I like what I see on tape.

Free agency

Robert Griffin III
We have all debated ad nauseam about this signing. I won't get us back into that conversation, except to say, I think this QB roster has been upgraded with a player that can be electrifying with weapons around him and I think the Browns did everything they could to add weapons in this draft. With what he now has, if he can't show marked improvement from 2016 to 2017, then I would say Cody Kessler will be the game manager in the 2017 draft that can move the chains and get the team to where we need to be.

 

2016: 69.9 percent completion, 4,944 yards, 38 TDs (7.1 rate), 7 INTs (1.3 rate), 9.3 YPA, 117.1 QB rating

2016 Playoffs: 70.7 percent completion, 730 yards, 7 TDs (9.3 rate), 0 INTs (0.0 rate), 9.7 YPA, 132.6 QB rating

Headed to a Super Bowl.

O

 

Haha, yeah, I'd say Matt Ryan took it to a whole other level this year...

I regretfully withdraw that entire post, Jared Goff will NEVER be any where near the level of Matt Ryan, maybe Matt Leinart or Ryan Leaf?