A quarterback should never be your fall-back option in the 1st round, but that’s exactly what happened to the Cleveland Browns.
According to Adam Schefter, the Browns were prepared to take Kendall Wright at No. 22 and were disappointed when the Titans surprisingly grabbed him at No. 20.
If Tennessee hadn’t taken Baylor WR Kendall Wright at No. 20, Cleveland would have taken him at 22. Browns bummed not to get Wright.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 27, 2012
Brandon Weeden felt like a 1st-round reach to begin with, but this report further calls into question the strategy being used in the Browns war room. If you have a similar grade on a quarterback and a receiver in the 1st round, you always target the quarterback. Quality receivers are found in the mid-to-late rounds every year. Quarterbacks are not.
If the Browns were targeting Wright at No. 22, they obviously felt comfortable moving forward with Colt McCoy. Now it’s possible that they could have landed Weeden at No. 37 or traded up to get him, but you certainly can’t count on that option. If they took Wright at No. 22 they had to be OK with McCoy as their starting quarterback.
So if they were willing to move forward with another year of McCoy, why make Weeden the backup plan?
This entire situation makes it looks as though the Browns panicked, and calls into question just how much confidence they have in their new franchise quarterback. This is definitely not the type of publicity Mike Holmgren’s front office needs when they’re already losing the confidence of the fan base.
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