As the NFL’s only remaining winless team, people betting on NFL at www.sbgglobal.eu know that Cleveland is not only brown, but also crispy – in other words, we may as well stick a fork in them because they’re pretty much done. And while they may not be competing for championship trophy anymore – if they ever were – they are still vying for a highly coveted consolation prize; a No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 NFL draft (even a second pick could do just fine; just look at the Philadelphia Eagles and Carson Wentz). This season, the Browns only drafted a QB as their 93rd pick in the third round. Granted, being the 15th pick meant the Wentz’ and Goffs were gone by the time they got to choose. This year could be a different story, though, and since the Robert Griffin III experiment was a failure that even Blind Willie McTell could have seen coming, it might be time to start thinking about the guy Cody Kessler will be backing up next season.
Certainly the most likely candidates at this time are Clemson junior Deshaun Watson and Notre Dame redshirt sophomore DeShone Kizer. Watson got off to kind of a slow start this fall, but picked up the pace this past weekend when the Tigers stayed on top in the ACC with a dramatic victory of emergent Louisviile. And that more like the guy NFL scouts saw in 2015 when he was a USA Today First Team All-American, ACC Player of the Year, ACC Offensive Player of the Year, ACC Championship Game MVP, Davey O’Brien Award winner, Orange Bowl MVP, Archie Griffin Award winner, and Manning Award winner. In fact, the only things missing in Watson’s resume are the Heisman Trophy and a National Championship. Stay tuned.
Meanwhile, Kizer still isn’t quite as well known as Watson despite leading Notre Dame, but he’s almost as athletic, plus he’s bigger and has a significantly stronger arm. And while Notre Dame players often stay in school, Kizer may be tempted to move on if the Irish continue to struggle this fall and Brian Kelly gets the boot at the end of the year.
If the Browns wait until the later rounds this year – and want to stay in state then Ohio State’s J.T. Barrett could be a target. The junior QB only registered 992 yards and 11 touchdowns passing in 2015 – in fact, he scored as many rushing TDs – but then he was under the shadow of current Buffalo Bill Cardale Jones. Barrett’s 2016 numbers with the Ohio State Buckeyes are already an improvement; 70 completions of 102 attempts (68.6%) for 888 passing yards with 14 scores, and 205 rushing yards with three TDs.
And if the Browns don’t get their QB of the future this year, there will be options down the road. Lamar Jackson of Louisville, for example, this year’s leading Heisman candidate is still just a true sophomore who won’t be draft eligible until 2018. Despite a tough loss to Clemson in this past weekend’s big game, the athletic Jackson has turned the Cardinals into must-see contenders who could realistically sneak their way into the College Football Playoffs. The epitome of a dual-threat QB, Jackson has produced as many TDs (14) passing as rushing so far in the 2016 regular season. He has passed 1625 and ran for 688 yards.
Meanwhile, Alabama freshman Jalen Hurts, who has the Tide on track to get back to the BCS title game is so good he not only took the starting spot from Blake Barnett, but beat him so bad for it that Barnett actually transferred out of Alabama. It was like an old school Loser Leaves Town match. If the Browns want a signal-caller that could get them the attention of fans betting on NFL, as well as help them get rid of RG3, Hurts just might be their man if they wait until 2019.
Whether the Browns go the Wentz or the Goff way with any of these prospects – that is, groom them for the future or start them right away – would be up to the coaching staff. Either way, any of them could surely boost Cleveland’s stock in the eyes of people who bet on NFL.
