The Browns Need To Keep Trying

There's a sentiment that the Browns would be best served by losing all of their remaining games. The reality is not so straightforward.

(Photo - Cleveland Browns)

There is no doubt that the Browns season has been a disappointment. Sitting at 1-6, on a five game losing streak, the playoffs are out of reach. Consequently, there has been an increasingly strong sentiment from parts of the fanbase that the team should now switch its priorities entirely and try to lose as many games as possible to maximize their draft position. In other words, the tank is on.

In a sports historical sense, tanking is a relatively recent phenomenon, especially in the NFL. As the quarterback has gained unrivaled importance amongst the 22 spots in the starting lineup, the lengths to which teams will stoop to secure the best chance at their preferred draft choice at the position have increasingly lengthened.

The Browns are the poster children of this approach. Under Sashi Brown, with Jimmy Haslam’s approval, the Browns front office oversaw one of the most drastic rebuilds in sports history, culminating in a 1-31 record from 2016 to 2017. This earned them the first pick in both years, leading to the selection of Myles Garrett and then Baker Mayfield in successive drafts. Unfortunately for the Browns they made the wrong pick in both drafts. Patrick Mahomes was available in the 2017 draft, and Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson were available in the 2018 draft.

(Photo - Cleveland Browns)

That’s the fatal flaw in the tanking strategy. It still depends on hitting the draft picks that you “earn” by being as bad as possible. Don’t get me wrong, Myles Garrett is a surefire first ballot Hall of Famer and I’m thrilled he will be a Cleveland Brown for life but Mahomes is Mahomes. Obviously, 2018 is even more clear cut. The Browns had their choice of quarterbacks and chose wrong. This happens all the time in the draft and is unavoidable, which makes it a serious flaw in any tanking strategy. There is not conclusive evidence from the past decade that the best quarterbacks in the league need to be drafted at one overall. More of them have come from elsewhere in the first-round or outside the first round, by far.