Cleveland Browns
The Browns won’t turn any heads this season. The Browns may not turn any heads in 2018. But five years from now, no team will be better-equipped to win a championship.
Cleveland’s strategy of tanking has netted them draft assets beyond your wildest dreams. Their draft this year was wonderful — they landed defensive end Myles Garrett, the best player on the board by all accounts, and tight end David Njoku late in the first. Safety (or maybe linebacker) Jabrill Peppers was a risk at No. 25 overall, but one the Browns could afford to take. They had three first rounders and Peppers’ upside is a rich man’s Deone Bucannon.
After another year of tanking, Cleveland can draft its franchise quarterback — likely USC’s Sam Darnold or UCLA’s Josh Rosen — and go from there. The unfortunate reality of the NFL is that tanking works and not enough teams are doing it. Cleveland has a treasure trove of picks and if it exercises the patience necessary to let it turn into a team, there will be no regret.