Dawgs By Nature
Myles Garrett, the second pick in the NFL draft offer a chance to choose a direction
The Cleveland Browns enter a very strange offseason. With no quarterback, having the second overall pick would normally ensure the next “QB of the future” would be selected there. Not everyone is sure the team should or will go in that direction even with a complimentary comparison and rankings inside the top 12.
Not every analyst has the quarterbacks ranked the same but it seems the Browns could have at least one good option but do GM Andrew Berry and HC Kevin Stefanski have a long enough leash to develop a rookie at the position?
Myles Garrett requesting a trade just added to the weirdness of this offseason. Garrett could fetch a good haul but trading away a difference-maker doesn’t help the team win (which Berry/Stefanski probably need) and there are salary cap implications for Cleveland.
With that, we posed a question for a DBN roundtable: Should the Browns look to rebuild or reload this offseason?
Thomas Moore
Cleveland has a clear path to attempt to fix the quarterback situation by selecting one with the No. 2 overall selection in the upcoming NFL Draft. But it may take more than just a quarterback to get the squad back on the right track.
The offensive line is aging and may get worse if Joel Bitonio decides to retire. The running game is completely non-existent and questions remain over Nick Chubb’s future. There is nothing to fear at wide receiver outside of Jerry Jeudy.
The situation is not much better on the defensive side of the ball. The defensive line will take a hit if Myles Garrett is traded away. But even if he stays, Garrett alone can’t make up for the shortcomings elsewhere on the line. The linebacker group is unimpressive without Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, and no one seems to have a clear understanding of whether or not he will play again after suffering a neck injury. The secondary looks good on paper, but it seems like no one can stay healthy enough for the group to become a cohesive unit.
It’s hard to believe that just 13 months after a fun playoff run the Browns are back to potentially take a couple of steps back to once again try to move forward, but it appears to be the current situation.
Everything about the idea of a rebuild stinks, but it might be time to accept that the best course of action is to hit the reset button once again and hope that this time they get it right.
Damon Wolfe
I want to state clearly that I’m not suggesting a tank in 2025 and maintain that it already happened last season and netted the Browns with the second pick overall. With a trade of Myles Garrett, the team could have the equivalent draft capital of what they had in the 2018 draft when they selected Baker Mayfield, Denzel Ward, and...
