There’s a consensus No. 1 player in the 2017 NFL Draft. That comes in the form of Texas A&M defensive end Myles Garrett, who has been likened to Khalil Mack and Von Miller from a pass-rush standpoint.
In need of any elite-level talent they can get, it would make sense that the Cleveland Browns might simply call Garrett’s name within a minute of the draft starting next Thursday.
But these are the Cleveland Browns. The same team that won one game last season and has not boasted a decent quarterback since Bernie Kosar wasn’t making a fool of himself.
So it stands to reason that what might be common sense to others, could potentially be a franchise-altering quandary for the Browns.
Previous reports indicated that the Browns were undecided on whether to pick Garrett or former North Carolina quarterback Mitch Trubisky with the first pick.
That’s now been taken to a whole new level with reports now indicating that there’s a major split between head coach Hue Jackson, his coaching staff and the Browns’ front office.
Continue to hear Browns coaches all-in on Garrett but front office more Trubisky in later stages of process and owner badly wants a QB…
— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) April 21, 2017
To say that Cleveland is in desperate need of a quarterback would be an understatement. Heck, the team pretty much bought free-agent bust Brock Osweiler from the Houston Texans earlier in the offseason. He’s now apparently going to be given an opportunity to start. Osweiler was so bad for Houston last season that he found himself benched for Tom Savage.
Despite this, common sense would seem to indicate that Cleveland won’t pass up on a generational talent like Garrett. Unfortunately, this team has been defined by everything but common sense since its rebirth in the NFL back in 1999.
There’s definitely another scenario in play here. If Cleveland is really sold on Trubisky as its franchise quarterback, the team could trade up from 12th overall to the No. 2 pick with San Francisco. This would guarantee the Browns both players. It’s also been noted that the 49ers are “desperate” to move down from two. If so, something could surely happen on that front.