The case against it is easy.
They haven’t had a franchise quarterback since Ice Cube dropped The Predator. Running backs have a short shelf life. It’s a passing league. Running backs are a dime a dozen. Once upon a time, someone mysteriously proclaimed Hue Jackson “The Quarterback Whisperer”. A running back hasn’t been taken this high in 23 years—Ki-Jana Carter, another Nittany Lion who washed out. New general manager John Dorsey is looking to make his mark, and the best way to do this is with a shiny new quarterback. They already missed out on Alex Smith this offseason (and likely won’t push all their chips in on Kirk Cousins). They’ve also recently passed on Deshaun Watson and Carson Wentz (among others). And by the way, the defense is nothing to write home about.
Some of that is factual, some is cliché. All are reasons why the Browns wouldn’t spend their #1 overall pick in the NFL Draft on Penn State running back Saquon Barkley. But drafting Barkley first, while audacious, may be wisest move the Browns can make.
Granted, a different cast of characters will be picking the players on April 26, but the Browns’ Occam’s razor-based strategy at the top of last year’s draft yielded one of the (very) few bright spots of 2017. While Myles Garrett’s 28 tackles, seven sacks and one fumble recovery don’t jump off the page, it was a productive 10 games. The Texas A&M product appears to be well on his way to a solid career. The Browns need sure things—they also need touchdowns and players that will make the fans not resort to the idiocy of parading around the stadium after a winless season. Barkley checks all those boxes.
Of course, the Browns desperately need a quarterback—if they fall in love with one, this is a different discussion. But word is Cleveland is not head over heels for any of the top four prospects (Josh Rosen, Sam Darnold, Josh Allen and Baker Mayfield). We could easily chalk this up as bogus pre-draft fodder, but would any of these rooks actually help Hue Jackson keep his job? The man whose two-season coaching record in Cleveland had people comically referring to January 31 (1/31) as “Hue Jackson Day”? An 0-4 start could spell doom for Jackson—a win or two in September could reaffirm ownership’s confidence in him.
With the fourth pick also in their possession, the Browns can nab Barkley at 1 and still likely land the (at worst) second quarterback off the board. And what better way for a young team to grind out W’s than with a ball-controlled offense centered around a strong running game? It’s how smart teams have eased the transition to the NFL for neophyte signal-callers for years. Regardless of which quarterback Cleveland ends up selecting, they’ll still be in the market for a veteran QB as well, as Browns left tackle Joe Thomas recently intimated Dorsey will not want to play a rookie field general. There’s a good chance that vet will be Bengals backup A.J. McCarron, who has only seen significant playing time in four games over his entire three-year career.
An elite back can do wonders for an offense with a shaky passing game. Leonard Fournette, last year’s #4 overall pick, carried the Jaguars’ top-ranked rushing attack to their first winning season in 10 years. Christian McCaffrey is a different type of back, but the eighth overall pick helped spearhead a Panthers offense that returned to the postseason, leading the team in receptions. Ezekiel Elliott, drafted fourth in 2016, carried the Cowboys to the playoffs with a rookie QB beside him in the Dallas backfield. A year earlier, the Rams picked Todd Gurley 10th overall; with a new offense that featured him, Gurley lifted the Rams to the playoffs for the first time since 2004.
Sidebar: We told you THREE YEARS AGO running backs ain’t dead.
These players have all justified their top 10 selection, but if a team can get their hands on a transcendent runner (of the Elliott/Gurley variety), why isn’t he worthy of #1? Gurley was second in MVP voting this year and Zeke finished fourth in ’16. Any player who can win the MVP award is worth a #1 overall pick. Saquon Barkley’s size, strength, elusiveness, breakaway speed and hands makes him far more of a certainty than any quarterback.
The one benefit that comes with being as bad as the Browns are is they have a blank slate to build their team however they choose. No player will have a more immediate impact on their team than Barkley, whose off-field reputation is cleaner than Danny Tanner. If that weren’t enough, he’s saying all the right things. While there are no guarantees in the NFL Draft, the words “CAN’T MISS” seem to be beating everyone over the head with this dude. He’s the best player in this draft, by many accounts, including HHSR’s own draft expert, Mark Hicks.
“The #1 pick is supposed to be used on the best player in college football, but the emphasis on the quarterback position allows the majority of them to be taken higher than they should,” the father of the #MarkDraft said. “However, Saquon Barkley is the best player in this draft regardless of position.”
We just watched the NFL’s final four consist of three teams void of an A-1 quarterback, including the eventual Super Bowl champs. Further proof that the best teams are…exactly that, the best teams. Cleveland should not expect a quarterback savior to walk through the door, but Barkley’s presence will instantaneously make any QB better. Picking Barkley ensures the Browns won’t blow the draft, no matter what else happens. Pairing him with Duke Johnson gives Cleveland a dynamic tandem at a skill position, something they haven’t had in years. It may even convince the aforementioned Thomas not to hang ’em up (every lineman knows run blocking is more fun than pass blocking, right?).
The Trent Richardson debacle could make the Browns and some fans gun-shy about taking a running back first, but understand this: Saquon will be gone by #4. You’ll only get one shot at landing the most electric player in the draft. A player that Browns fans will actually want to purchase their jersey and pay money to see. A player that opposing defenses will actually have to gameplan against. A player that, aside from one Josh Gordon year, probably hasn’t existed in Cleveland since Eric Metcalf.
The Browns won’t do it, but the case for taking Barkley #1 is even easier than the case against it.