The Cleveland Browns probably should have drafted Carson Wentz
By David Esser
The Philadelphia Eagles robbed the Browns during their 2016 draft trade.
The Cleveland Browns looked decent enough during their outing on Thursday night football, capturing their first win of the 2020 NFL season by the ways of knocking off the Joe Burrow led Bengals 35-30. Quarterback Baker Mayfield didn’t self-implode like he has in previous games, keeping things in control while his running backs combined for 210 rushing yards. As nice as 35 points of offense sounds on paper, it’s hard not to imagine just how deadly the Browns would be if they had current Philadelphia Eagles QB Carson Wentz calling the shots instead.
Now before you click off thinking this is some wild hypothetical trade article, there’s some legitimate history to this alternative reality. The Browns owned the #2 overall pick in the 2016 NFL drafted, yet opted to trade it away to the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for a slew of later draft picks. It was one of the biggest blockbuster deals in Eagles history, and it left each franchise headed in different directions.
Four years later and the Eagles have won their division twice, been to the playoffs three consecutive years in a row, and of course have a Super Bowl win. The Cleveland Browns on the other hand haven’t appeared in the postseason in close to 20 years, and have a QB situation on their hands that is less than ideal.
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For as competent as Mayfield looked on Thursday, it’s been a really rocky start to his NFL career thus far. Despite being selected first overall in the 2018 NFL draft, he’s stuck in a situation where his current team might opt against handing him a second contract. Mayfield is 13-18 as a starting QB, and his disappointing sophomore season really left a sour taste in a lot of people’s mouths. Despite being surrounded by an immense amount of elite talent on the offensive side of the ball, he led his team to a 6-10 record.
Mayfield’s 22 interceptions in 2019 ranked as the second most in the league, and his 51.2 QBR put him in the bottom third of all starting QBs.
While the Browns did get steamrolled in their Week 1 matchup with the Baltimore Ravens, their inclination to be a “run first” offense in Week 2 against the Bengals did wonders for their team as a unit. It put less pressure on Mayfield, allowing him to take calculated shots down the field when necessary.
However, if the Browns front office/ownership could go back in time, they almost surely would have held on to their pick in 2016, and selected the current Eagles QB out of North Dakota State.
Almost all of the extra picks that the Browns got in the initial trade turned into nothing (Deshone Kizer, Corey Coleman, to name a few), and the team has been stuck in QB limbo for the better part of two decades. Despite Wentz’ rough start to the 2020 season, his play over the last few seasons has consistently seen him ranked in the top 10-15 of all QBs, and that’s something the Browns have been desperately craving for years.
Next. Philadelphia Eagles: 5 positive talking points from the Week 1 loss. dark
Regardless, the Browns gave away their chance to draft Wentz and the Philadelphia Eagles have been counting their blessings ever since. While the opportunity for it is long passed, it’s hard not to imagine what Wentz would looked like surrounded by the likes of Nick Chubb and Odell Beckham Jr. over in Ohio. I’m almost positive Browns’ ownership feels the same way.