For years, the Cleveland Browns have been the joke of the NFL. The league has looked on at their rotating door of quarterbacks (26 starters since 1999) and their clockwork pattern of replacing coaches and front offices every few years. The Browns frequent, painful missteps (i.e. drafting Johnny Manziel and trading down to avoid Carson Wentz) have lured the football world into assuming that the Browns simply cannot help screwing up. Unfortunately, this is a false sense of security--the Browns have put in place a good front office and a young team ready to enter contention.
The Browns have had some truly terrible front offices, culminating in Sashi Brown’s disastrous tenure. However, past debacles do not necessarily portend future failures, and the new Browns front office is worthy of respect. General Manager John Dorsey is an experienced football guy with a strong record of success, especially in the draft. It was under his direction that the Kansas City Chiefs found their QB of the future in Patrick Mahomes and breakout RB Kareem Hunt. Furthermore, Dorsey has surrounded himself with experienced talent evaluators to create a brain trust in the Browns front office capable of finding the talent they need.
Coaching has also been a source of great angst for Browns fans over the years, as the trauma of repeated failures has accumulated. Current coach Hue Jackson is not in great favor with the Cleveland fanbase, as a 1-31 record happens to make most fanatics pretty unhappy. However, it is worth considering that Jackson has lacked both consistency and talent on the field, especially at the quarterback position. Jackson may not be a stellar coach, but it’s hard to blame just him for the Browns’ struggles given the pieces he’s had to work with. By retaining Jackson, Dorsey gave the head coach a chance to perform with a more talented team. However, the Browns front office also created a safety net around Jackson in the form of experienced former Steelers offensive coordinator Todd Haley and defensive coordinator Gregg Williams. Both Haley and Williams are extremely well-respected gurus with significant playoff experience. Thus, Dorsey has skillfully retained Hue Jackson while also improving the coaching staff by adding wisdom and skill.
Finally, the Browns have, for all their struggles, put together a young team with significant talent. This offseason, the Browns cleared house in their quarterback room, replacing a stable of failures with the solid, reliable Taylor and the sky-high potential of Baker Mayfield. The Browns have taken a bold bet taking franchise quarterback Baker Mayfield with the 2018 #1 pick. Like all of the top QB prospects, he had red flags, but his overall track record of combining incredible leadership with transcendent play made him the Browns’ pick for their future. Mayfield enters a situation where he will have time to learn from an experienced coaching staff and a seasoned NFL quarterback in Tyrod Taylor. GM John Dorsey also added a key weapon in Jarvis Landry, who is a perfect reliable complement to the inconsistent but electric Josh Gordon. On defense, the Browns have an absolute beast in Myles Garrett, joined by talented Emmanuel Ogbah and now shutdown cornerback Denzel Ward. All of this is not final, as they retain significant draft capital, including three second-round picks.
There is a long road between the Cleveland Browns and contention. They’ve taken a big risk in #1 pick Baker Mayfield and must rebuild a team with a lot of needs and no track record of winning. However, if anyone can do it, it’s the skilled front office and coaching staff that have put the Browns on the right path in the first round of the NFL Draft. In an AFC north that looks more open as Joe Flacco and Ben Roethlisberger age, the Browns have an opportunity to roar into a playoff slot. So for the future, don’t laugh at the Cleveland Browns; watch your backs, because they’re coming as fast as they can.
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