Tuesday, April 11, 2017

Myles Garrett, Leonard Fournette, Trades, and the Browns

As I write this, Ross Tucker on NFL Radio is hammering Myles Garrett.  Ross is starting to think this guy is bonkers after his most recent tweets: He's now talking about how smart he is.

What really frosted Ross was Garrett's cancelling his appearance on Mike and Mike because Booger McFarland was to be on the show.  Booger McFarland has questioned Garrett's motor.

Booger isn't my favorite analyst, but this bugs me too.  Not as much as it (and the video he made pleading with Jerry Jones to trade Romo to the Browns to draft him) irks Ross, but it does make me nervous about this guy.

Rhona LaCanfora's latest baseless rumor has the Browns considering drafting Leonard Fournette first overall.  This is rediculous, obviously, but I'm glad it's been suggested.

As I've mentioned, the Browns will consider trade offers for the first overall pick.  It is possible that someone in the organization (besides a janitor or a fictional "source") did float this rumor for once.

This would serve several purposes:

1: To guage public reaction to a trade-down.

2: Get an intelligent debate about a trade-down going, with time left for objective people to persuade emotional people that it's not unthinkable or even dumb.  As it stands, a trade-down would bring out the torches and pitch-forks, and maybe fatwas and writs of excommunication.

3: Make people think they want Fournette over Trubisky, Hooker, et al.

4: Prime the pump; Get some offers...start some bidding.  

To be clear, I don't think Garrett's actions would prevent the Browns from drafting him first overall if nobody coughs up the king's ransom they are trolling for.

I have to come back to one hypothetical trade I cited earlier: First overall for Garopollo, the Patriots third round pick in 2017, and their first in 2018.

Or possibly the Tennessee Titans: Marcus Mariota is just emerging, and the Titans may well be one player away from serious contention (which the Browns are not).

Aside from Garrett, any of the players being mocked at second or third overall could be available at five, and all of them are better fits for the Browns than Garrett.

These include the top two safeties, the top two defensive tackles, and Mitch Trubisky.  Trubisky is a quarterback, which is different, but all of the other guys are most certainly day one studs who address actually real, (as opposed to imaginary), needs.

I suspect that Trubisky could be the real target.  They'd have to risk Shanahan and the 49ers at second taking him, but Shanahan signed Hoyer, has the inside track on Kirk Cousins, and (unlike the Browns) really does have a crappy roster.

But then, a lot of smart people I respect remain very high on DeShaun Watson, and I myself like Mahomes too.  I still suspect that for Hue Jackson, any high-quality lump of clay will suffice, so that even if somebody else nabs Trubisky, he won't be falling down throwing any tantrums.

I'm just throwing this out there.  I'll take Garrett and love it if that's how it plays out.  Or I'd take Jimmy G and some high picks to boot.  Or I'll take Hooker, Adams, Allen, Thomas, or Trubisky and more high (HIGH I said, as in high percentage) draft picks in 2018 and in this defensive back, tight end, edge, and defensive tackle-rich 2017 draft.

If the Browns did float the Fournette balloon, it was a smart move.

A note on Josh Gordon: The Browns gear in the trash can was six months ago, and was far more likely a reaction to comments by Mary Kay Cabbott and other opiners than to anything the Browns said.

He's been listening to pundits call him a drug addict, recommend and predict his release (and personal doom), and even imply that he might have forgot how to catch passes by now (holy ____!) ever since he chose to enter rehab, and I guess he couldn't find any pundit gear for the trash can.

If Mary Kay thinks a stupid snapchat post "sealed his fate", she really has no idea what Sashi Brown does for a living.  Yeah right.  Sashi didn't see this until now, and it will make him decide not to keep him?  A stupid angry photo a young guy posted, then deleted several months ago is a "last straw"?

Why does everybody think people who run football teams are little boys?  Good grief.

What a load of LaCanfora.






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