On Thursday night, the Browns drafted the most exciting quarterback available. I think every Browns fan was feeling really good and hopeful about Johnny Manziel. But, because it's the Browns and everything good must be followed by a strong kick in the balls, we found out less than 24 hours later that Josh Gordon may be suspended for the entire upcoming season.So before we discuss the draft, let's start with this: Assuming Gordon is indeed going to miss the season, what do you think the Browns should do? They completely ignored any and all of the wide receivers who were available in the later rounds of the draft.
Brett: The first thing, which I think the Browns understand, is that you can't just replace Josh Gordon. He's a top five talent and if he is indeed lost for the season, that changes up the entire approach to the passing game. With Gordon, the Browns offense could have looked a lot like Kyle Shanahan's Texans days with Andre Johnson, but without Gordon it's more like Shanahan's early years in Washington when Santana Moss, Jabar Gaffney and Anthony Armstrong topped the depth chart.
The most interesting name still available on the free agent market is Miles Austin, who's a 30 year old with injury concerns, but the lack of interest surrounding him could make it easy to get him on a team friendly one-year deal. As of right now the Browns really don't have any proven veteran pass catchers outside of Nate Burleson and Austin could be a nice fit if the Browns are intending to put together a rag tag group of receiver who's sum is greater than the whole of it's parts. I'll also float Josh Morgan's name out there. He struggled to separate himself from the competition in Washington, but he's a versatile receiver who's played in Kyle Shanahan's offense, so he could have some value. One more name that I'm only putting on here because he played his college ball at Ohio State: Santonio Holmes.
Of course, that receiver pool could grow in the next few months, as there were 33 receivers taken in the 2014 draft and while not all of them will stick, their roster spots will have to come from somewhere. Some names to watch for are Stephen Hill, who's wearing out his welcome in New York, but he's still young and his size/speed combo is hard to pass up. Brandon Lloyd signed with the 49ers recently, but after trading for Stevie Johnson and drafting Bruce Ellington in the 5th round, Lloyd could quickly find himself the odd man out in San Francisco. Similarly, the Colts pick of Ole Miss WR Donte Moncrief in the 2nd round could be an indication that LaVon Brazill is on the hot seat. There's some off field concerns with Brazill, but he's also flashed on field promise.
I might be jumping the gun a bit, but I'd also like to mention what the Browns have done at the position, signing four undrafted rookies who have a chance to impress in an otherwise thin group:
-Ball State's Willie Snead IV is the best candidate of the four to make an immediate contribution. Snead graded out as a day three pick after he rewrote the record books at Ball State on his way to posting back-to-back 1,000 yard seasons (106 rec 1516 yds and 15 TDs in 2013) before declaring for the draft as a junior. Snead projects as a possession receiver who relies on his natural hands and precise route running to beat corners rather than blazing speed. At 5'11 195 lbs he can play inside or outside and is likely to see time at both spots during training camp.
-Vanderbilt WR Johnathan Krause is a 6'1 215 lbs burner (runs a sub 4.4) and can develop into a legitimate deep threat on the outside. His route running is pretty clean, he’s was a willing blocker and his production at Vandy was solid playing across from second round pick Jordan Matthews.
-San Jose State’s Chandler Jones measures 5'9 180 lbs on scouting reports, but SJSU had him listed at 5'11. Like Krause he ran sub 4.4 at his pro day and was a favorite target of David Fales, racking up 1356 yards and 15 TDs on 79 receptions. He was a pro day snub with a chip on his shoulder. Without trying to raise the bar too high, I see him as a poor man's DeSean Jackson. He can contribute immediately on special teams and has the pure speed to take the top off the defense, but won't shy away from contact going over the middle.
-They also added Kenny Shaw from Florida State who clocks in at 6'0 170lbs so he'll need to bulk up a bit if he wants to stick in the NFL, but he’s played tough against tough competition.
Mayer: I'd definitely feel a little better about the situation if they do sign somebody like Austin, or another veteran who they can feel pretty confident about. Undrafted rookies can be interesting, but they're also obviously a crapshoot. And you're right, regardless of what they do, there's really no way to replace what Gordon provided. I was surprised that so many fans seemed to be outraged that the team didn't draft a receiver. It's almost like they thought that drafting Marqise Lee would magically make everything alright.
So speaking of the draft, the Browns ended up with Justin Gilbert, Johnny Manziel, Joel Bitonio, Christian Kirksey, Terrance West, and Pierre Desir. Feel free to chime in about any of the guys if you know something about them, but clearly the marquee name here is Manziel. The Browns have spent the last 15 years looking for a franchise quarterback, and now all of the pressure that comes with filling that spot falls on his shoulders.
I'm not going to lie, I was pretty excited that they went for him. Obviously there are a lot of questions about his size and how well his style of football will translate to the NFL. I get all of that. I'm not naïve about this. But there's just something about him. His personality is captivating. In addition to not having a quarterback, the Browns have also never really had an identity. For better or worse, Johnny Manziel gives them an identity. And it's not like they used a top ten pick on him, so I think the risk of drafting him was relatively low.
What say you?
Brett: I really think Austin can be a good fit, and the undrafted free agents are a complete crapshoot, but I think it was encouraging to see the Browns go after some guys who may not have been as highly rated, but who clearly have talent and all seemed to fit the mold of being reliable pass catchers, and willing blockers who aren't afraid to make the contested catch.
On to the draft. I'll be honest, I was in the Marquise Lee camp. I loved the talent, I thought he had the skills to step up in Josh Gordon's absence (not on the same level, but provide a clearer number one), and then slip back into a support role when Gordon returns. That said, I think they absolutely made the right call taking Joel Bitonio from Nevada. He's an analyst favorite, specifically Mike Mayock of NFL Network was very high on Bitonio. He's expected to play RT in the NFL, but he also has the ability to slide inside and play guard. He's just one of those guys who's 6'4 and 302 lbs but he runs a sub 5 second 40 and was a top performer across the board at the combine, and the game tape backs up his athleticism.
Terrence West is a nice pick, and a little underrated coming out of Towson. He's a a between the tackles power type runner with solid hands out of the backfield, so he's a perfect fit for what Kyle Shanahan likes to do in the running game and with Ben Tate's injury history he could see the field sooner rather than later. After being a workhorse in college though, I do think he'll benefit from rookie year more along the lines of Montee Ball last year. Give him time to adjust to the NFL level and improve his pass blocking, and in a few years he could be the guy.
I don't know much about Kirksey, but he seems to fit the formula of finding well built, highly athletic guys with good college production and leadership traits. He's seen as being a little too small and not quite powerful enough to hold down a spot as an outside linebacker in the NFL, but he's an intelligent player with a nose for the ball so a move inside could work out nicely.
Cornerback Pierre DeSir is a small school guy who proved he could hang with the big boys at the East-West Shrine Game and Senior Bowl. He's got great size at 6'1, 198 lbs and he plays to his size. He's not a burner like Gilbert, but he's quick and he's tough.
Speaking of Gilbert, I loved the pick, and actually had a feeling that Cleveland might be coveting this year's top corner. So much to like about this guy: 6'0, 204 lbs blazed a 4.37 40 yard dash at the combine, he so well and he's a born playmaker. Just to temper expectations a tad here, while Gilbert is an extremely talented cover corner I worry about opposing QBs picking on him. Gilbert will no longer be the best corner on the team and QBs are going to want to test him and the knock on Gilbert is that he's not a great tackler. To be clear, I really like this guy, but it makes me nervous when I hear people (including GM Ray Farmer) say he could be the next Patrick Peterson.
And of course, Johnny Manziel. My favorite part about this pick for the Browns is how it happened. It would have been so easy for the Browns to jump at Manziel at fourth overall, especially considering the Jaguars had just thrown every draft analyst a curveball by passing on WR Sammy Watkins and OLB Khalil Mack to draft QB Blake Bortles (who I actually thought the Browns might be targeting). Instead the Browns stayed patient, traded down, added first and fourth round picks for 2015, got Gilbert, and waited for their moment to take Manziel.
There's enough out there about Johnny Manziel that I don't have to break down much of his game. There's no question about his arm talent, he silenced any critics on that front at his pro day. It's all about if he can become patient and learn to throw from the pocket with defenders at his feet. And I think he can. I wasn't a fan of Manziel for a long time, I thought he was overrated after hearing so many people talk up his performance in this year's loss to Alabama ('Bama was up by at least 14 points each of the five times Manziel threw a TD in that game, if it were anyone else you'd say it was soft coverage, but since it was Manziel it was considered dominance). But after hearing some of his pre-draft comments about wanting to impress Texans head coach Bill O'Brien with his football knowledge I realized that he is a football junkie, and he is a guy who wants to do whatever it takes to win football games.
I think he understands that's what he will need to do to be successful in the NFL, but understanding it and reprogramming your brain to run to buy to make a throw rather than just running for the first down marker are two different things. I think it helps that Kyle Shanahan is the OC in Cleveland. He worked with Robert Griffin III in Washington and while that didn't end well, I have to assume he was encouraged by his pre-draft meetings with Manziel that this could be different.
Mayer: Kyle Shanahan's experience with Griffin is interesting, and I'm sure we'll be hearing a lot about that. The Redskins went from 5-11 in 2011 to 10-6 during RG3's rookie year, which is exactly what Browns fans are hoping Manziel can do. (Although apparently Jimmy Halsam has been going around telling people that Brian Hoyer is the quarterback right now.)
I guess to maybe begin wrapping this up, I'd just like to get a sense of how you see the AFC North shaking out next season. I know rosters are a long way from being finalized, and we still don't know for sure exactly what Josh Gordon's situation will be. But right now, how realistic do you think it is that the Browns can make a jump to 9-7 or 10-6 and get into the playoffs?
Brett: I'm sure the Shanahan angle will be talked to death by the time we get to week one, but I really think having that one year of success followed by a year of failure with RG3 will positively impact how Manziel is handled in Cleveland. As for keeping Hoyer the intended starter, it's actually a smart move by Haslam. I know Manziel's the one selling all the jerseys, but Hoyer's brief performance can't be overlooked and if Johnny Manziel doesn't look like the better QB by the end of training camp or has issues picking up the playbook the Browns would be wise to let Brian Hoyer start the season (especially if Gordon is suspended and Nate Burleson is still the top receiver). That said, Hoyer's coming off an ACL tear and will have a bit of a ways to go himself. And while we're discussing the QB position, I just want to make quick mention of Connor Shaw who went undrafted out of South Carolina. He's another undersized mobile QB with good mobility who seemed to specialize in winning games in college, I think he'll make a nice fit as the third QB behind Hoyer and Manziel if he can beat out Alex Tanney.
The AFC North is really one of the more interesting divisions to me right now because it seems almost wide open, and yet I would not be surprised to see almost any of these teams end up running away with the division, each teams roster is seems someway in flux. The Steelers are coming off a rough year, but they're also coming off a nice draft and if the line can stay healthy they'll be very dangerous. The Bengals lost their offensive and defensive coordinators, a top pass rusher, and a starting lineman and yet don't seem any worse for it, but I could still see a small step back for them. The Ravens have been consistently good but outside of their Super Bowl run not consistently great. The needle is point up for the Browns, but without Gordon, with a first year head coach, with a rookie QB, I think 10-6 is asking a little too much, but 8-8, or 9-7 are definite possibilities.
I think the early part of the season will be most critical. Even if Johnny Manziel wins the starting job the run game and defense will have to be what carries this team until he can get up to NFL speed (think the first six games of Russell Wilson's career).
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