Having the first overall pick isn’t something NFL teams want the distinction of having. Sure it’s nice to have the ability to pick any of the young exciting prospects but it usually means the team had a disastrous season or mortgaged their future to move up in the draft. The Cleveland Browns after having their own terrible season that saw them go 1-15 have the first overall pick in the 2017 draft. Most number one picks seem easy to predict and is about the only pick that mock drafts get right but this number one overall pick isn’t the average number one pick.
This pick could make or break an NFL franchise like we’ve never seen before. Every team has a pick that turned out to be a bust and ended up costing coaches their jobs but this pick could cost the operation of a franchise.
What the Browns are thinking
In 1999 the Browns became a team again and since then they’ve never been great but in the last few years they’ve been terrible. They’ve never been able to find a coach, quarterback, or any stability but they’ve also been terrible in drafting. Most of Cleveland’s recent first round picks aren’t on their roster and many of them are out of the NFL. The Browns have been responsible for picking some of the biggest busts in the last few years including Quarterback Johnny “Football” Manizel, cornerback Justin Gilbert, and running back Trent Richardson; at the time this article is being written none of them are on an NFL roster.
For this team to survive, this year has to be different and the Browns can’t allow themselves to draft like the Browns.
For weeks it’s been a foregone conclusion that Texas A&M defensive end Myles Garrett would be the first overall pick and he deserves to be. Garrett has been great at football ever since he stepped on the field.
Coming out of high school he was the number two overall prospect in the country. He was a five-starr recruit by Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN. While at Texas A&M he had 141 tackles and 31.0 sacks in three years. He was also a two time first-team All-American and two time first-team All-Sec. Garrett also put up good numbers at the combine and personal workouts, and has answered questions about his motivation.
Myles was also the highest graded player in the draft. This guy screams first overall pick but the Browns may have stopped seeing him that way.
The Browns problems at quarterback are well documented and have inspired countless jokes and memes but in this year’s draft they may be looking to change that. Five quarterbacks could go in the first round this year, the most since 1999 and the Browns seem to have their eye on North Carolina QB Mitchell Trubisky. Trubisky only started one full season at North Carolina but in that lone season he put up big numbers and looks the part of an NFL QB. It’s a similar college career to former first round pick Mark Sanchez. Trubisky shouldn’t go first overall but the NFL is desperate for the good quarterbacks and Trubisky at least looks like he could turn into that if he’s given time to ride the bench but a first round QB don’t sit for long.
What the Browns could do
The Browns could trade that number one pick away to a team that loves Garret and stockpile draft picks for the future. If the Browns don’t like Garret enough, trading away is the most likely option because if Garret isn’t picked at one he’ll be drafted at two but what the Browns could get back is another question. As much as teams love pass rushers and invest lots of money into them they may not want to trade away a ton of picks like they would for a quarterback. The Redskins, Eagles, and Rams have all given up lots of draft picks to move up and draft quarterbacks, some of whom didn’t work out, and others seem to have bright futures. But Garret doesn’t touch the ball every play or score points and that’s the way games are won.
If the Browns aren't able to trade out of that pick Garret is their only choice. He's a building block for the future. He isn’t a pick that will win games on his own but he is a pick that a winning team can be built around.
The Browns may have a chance at Trubisky later in the first round. Unlike many other teams the Brown have two first round picks, one at number one and one at number twelve. Trubisky may not make it out of the top ten but if he does the Browns could justify taking him later in the first round.The Browns should trade down from twelve or draft the best available player, whoever that may be at that time in the draft. The Browns can’t get this pick wrong, if they do and the team keeps struggling to compete the NFL may be forced to do something drastic to fix the team.
In a league that prides itself on the “any given Sunday” idea, they can’t have a team that can’t win. If the Browns want to keep being the Browns they pick Trubisky at number one, if the Browns want to win in the future they pick Myles Garret at number one overall.
