1st Round Pick In Cleveland, You’re Probably a Bust

26 Aug, 2016

You want to list all of the first-round flops? Grab a pen, and a very big pad, because when it comes to the Browns, the list is long.

Johnny Manziel will always be Exhibit “A”, but he has plenty of company, especially as the Browns continue to part ways with some top picks.

Enter Sashi Brown. He isn’t responsible for this mess, but it’s his job to clean it up, and he has decisions to make on two former first-rounders who are fighting for their football lives.

Keke Mingo, the 6th overall pick just three years ago, has never panned out. He sure seems to be on the ropes. In fact, he didn’t get into last week’s preseason game until well into the second half.

As for Justin Gilbert, the 8th overall pick just two years ago, he simply isn’t getting better. Corey Coleman (Hey! a first-round pick who seems like the real deal) has been torturing him throughout camp, and if you think Gilbert’s cover skills are bad, watch his tackling. Devonta Freeman of the Falcons ran right through him a week ago.

What about last year’s first-round picks? Well, Danny Shelton, 12th overall, just hasn’t made the impact everyone expected.

And Cam Erving? He was a disaster as a guard a year ago, but this year they’ve moved him to center, and while he’s made big strides, he’s a work in progress, as he showed when he airmailed a shotgun snap against Atlanta.

But again, just think about the list. Manziel. Gilbert. Mingo. Richardson. Weeden. You have to go all the way back to 2010, when Joe Haden was taken 7th overall, to find a first-round pick who has lived up to expectations.

None of this is the fault of the current regime. Their pick, Corey Coleman, sure looks like he’s a player. But the previous mistakes by former front offices have set this franchise back years. So it’s out with the old, in with the new. The first round of cuts, next Tuesday, may actually be a first round worth looking forward to.

Cleveland19.com

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