Cleveland Browns Botch Another NFL Draft, As Phil Taylor Era Ends

Aug 20, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Exterior view of FirstEnergy Stadium prior to a preseason game between the Buffalo Bills and Cleveland Browns. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports

The Cleveland Browns release of Phil Taylor is another example of how the franchise continues to flounder.

Well, another one bites the dust for the Browns.

No, I’m not talking about any player passing away or suffering any kind of traumatic accident–I’m speaking on the draft. Since coming back in 1999, the Browns have butchered pick after pick that has set the team back years and has led to regression instead of progression. There are numerous examples–but I don’t have the time to go over every single mistake this franchise has made in picking future projected “stars.”

However, this latest move by the team could haunt them for years to come. The Browns released defensive lineman Phil Taylor as they had to make roster cuts to 75. Many have said he was just part of the numbers game as he was part of a deep defensive line–but it is rare that a team will cut a high first-round pick coming into the fifth year of their deal. It has also been said that the Browns paid him the $5.5 million on his player option because of the uncertainty of his knee issues.

Since his rookie campaign in 2011, in which he had a good year with 37 tackles and four sacks, he’s fought injuries and has struggled to put up the numbers needed to be an effective defensive lineman in the 3-4 defense.

In the three years combined since his first year, he had 32 tackles and only three sacks. He has also only played in 44 total games. In his defense, Taylor’s has moved around the line from being the NT, to the DE and back to the NT, which are all different approaches to attacking opposing offenses. But when you’re in the 3-4 defense as a lineman, you must have the ability to be durable, and Taylor was incapable of that.

Danny Shelton was drafted for that reason. He along with Xavier Cooper and Cleveland’s own Jamie Meder–have outplayed Taylor for most of the preseason. He did not record one tackle or sack.

While Phil’s tenure as a Brown was a failure, he will always be linked to Julio Jones of the Atlanta Falcons. Why is this?

The Browns traded out of the pick that Atlanta used to get Jones (6th) along with five other picks which were the 21st, 59th and 124th pick. They also received a first (22nd) and a fourth round pick for 2012. That sounds like the recipe for a championship right? In most cases, it is, except for the Browns. While Jones, who just received a five-year, $71.2 million extension and is a two-time Pro Bowler has succeeded, all of the selections the Browns picked are either out of the league or on different teams after the Taylor cut.

Greg Little (59th) is currently fighting to make the Cincinnati Bengals roster, Owen Marecic ( 124th) who was the best fullback in college football at Stanford is out of the NFL. Brandon Weeden ( 22nd in 2012) is now a backup to Tony Romo with the Dallas Cowboys and Trent Richardson (3rd in 2012) was just released by the Oakland Raiders and is widely viewed as potentially the biggest running back bust of all time. I think it’s safe to say that the Browns were the losers in this deal.

It’s rare to see teams fail on every single pick like that. They may not turn out to be superstars, but they at least help the team in some kind of way. With the Browns being the deepest at defensive linemen, the lost of Taylor and even Ishmaa’ily Kitchen will not hurt them in the long-run, but it does put another black mark on the drafting history of the Browns. They must learn to scout and get it right or the painful process will continue.

Next: Browns: Who Will Be Cut Next?

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