Much like the 2014 draft was for the Oakland Raiders, the 2017 NFL draft can be a franchise altering one for the Cleveland Browns.
It’s been bad Cleveland. The Browns are the butt of national jokes. Downtown Cleveland is half empty on game days. Paper-bags are No. 1 selling hat in the region, according to fake LIDS.
No one want’s to be recognized at FirstEnergy Stadium.
But, if your into cliche adages, it’s always darkest before the dawn.
Just look at the Oakland Raiders.
Before the Browns were the NFL’s doormat, Oakland was the place career went to die.
That all changed when the Raiders selected Khalil Mack fifth overall in the 2014 draft. Oakland hit another homer in the second round with the selection of Derek Carr.
The Browns will likely pick first in the 2017 NFL Draft. If the season ended today, they’d also pick 13th ( from Philadelphia). And with those two selections, the Browns can do what the Oakland Raiders did, and alter the course of their downtrodden franchise.
Myles Garrett is regarded as the best player in the draft. Take him first. Put pressure on the quarterback. The Browns defense lacks stars. That changes with the selection of Garrett, who despite playing injured (ankle) this season, is still one of the best players in the country.
At quarterback, Mitch Trubisky has the build and arm to win in the AFC North. Yes, there’s some concern that he’s started just one year for UNC. Remember, people questioned Carson Went’z body of work–or lack there of–leaving North Dakota State. His future looks bright.
To the Harvard educated men sitting in the offices in Berea. This is easy. Don’t overthink it. Take Trubisky, the Cleveland native and lifetime Browns fans who just so happens to have completed 68.9 percent of his attempts this season.
Don’t listen to people who will bring up the fact that he’s started just one year. It’s been one heck of a year, in a Power-5 conference. Because of Trubisky, UNC football is relevant.
The Browns are well aware of Trubisky and have targeted him in their scouting, according to CBS Sports Jason La Canfora.
The media will likely over-hype Trubisky during and after the combine, but if the Browns want him the front office has the resources to grab the northeast Ohio native. That’s why Sashi Brown the Harvard Gang stockpiled picks. They can move up in with their second round pick in the first round.
Just imagine if Garrett and Trubisky were you’re two first-round selections. Fan base, re-energized. Hope, restored. The future would be in place on both offense and defense and the fans would have something they could cling to through the tough times.
Just look at how it’s worked out for the Raiders. Carr was selected in the second round the same year the Browns took Johnny Manziel. Carr has 22 touchdowns. Five interceptions. A QB rating of 100. He’s an MVP candidate.
Mack, the No. 5 pick off the 2014 draft is also an MVP candidate. He’s got 9.0 sacks. Twenty-eight total in his career, which is just 2 3/4 seasons young.
The Raiders went from 3-13 during Carr and Mack’s first year, to 7-9, to their current mark of 9-2.
The Browns also figure to pick first in the second round. With that selection, Curtis Samuel would be an incredible addition. The Browns infamously passed over every Buckeye entrant in last year’s draft. This isn’t to say the Browns should take guys because they’re Buckeyes, but Ohio State is a national powerhouse for one reason: They have elite-level college players. There are a few, Samuel in particular, that would be worth a look.
His addition would also aid a horrific punt-return game. Name the punt returner right now! Do it! I can’t! Think about that for a second. The punt-return game would go from a chore the Browns just want to get through into an actual football play where something crazy could happen, like the field getting flipped!
Don’t let this season make you forget that Hue Jackson is an offensive guru. Imagine the types of things he could do with the Ohio State RB/WR at his disposal.
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A team–even as bad as the Cleveland Browns–can turn their fortunes around with one NFL draft. The Raiders proved it. It took two season’s for Oakland’s tree to bear fruit, but it could be seen in year two of the Carr-Mack era that the Raiders were headed in the right direction.
This isn’t hard, Browns. Don’t blow it. #GODAWPUND