BEREA: The Browns became the first team to pick three players in the opening round of the NFL Draft since 2013, but none of those prospects is a quarterback.
They selected Texas A&M defensive end Myles Garrett at No. 1 overall, Michigan defensive back Jabrill Peppers at No. 25 and Miami tight end David Njoku at No. 29.
But the franchise that has started 26 quarterbacks since 1999 had a QB-free first round for the third consecutive year and the second time during this regime’s tenure.
Yet it also may have further set itself up to trade for a veteran at the sport’s most important position by adding a 2018 first-round pick from the Houston Texans to its ammunition via a trade down from the 12th overall choice. Now they have 12 selections in next year’s draft, including two in the first round, three in the second round, two in the fourth round and two in the sixth round.
Whether the Browns use their stockpile of picks to pull off a surprising deal for a veteran quarterback like New England Patriots backup Jimmy Garoppolo, Cincinnati Bengals backup AJ McCarron or Washington Pro Bowler Kirk Cousins remains to be seen.
“That’s not the reason we did it,” head of football operations Sashi Brown said late Thursday night. “We just feel like it will help us build the roster. It may be something that goes to a package to get a veteran quarterback. It may be something that we just use as a draft pick. So we’ll see what comes down the pike in terms of opportunities, but there’s no specific deal in place or plan in place to go acquire a veteran QB at this point.”
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported the Browns were attempting to trade for Cousins when the New York Jets were on the clock at No. 6, but Rapoport added he didn’t know if Washington would be willing to make a deal.
ESPN’s John Keim also reported Washington has made it clear to Cousins he is their quarterback for 2017. Cousins has received a franchise tag from Washington in each of the past two years, and he’s scheduled to make $23.94 million during the upcoming season.
Asked about NFL Network reporting the Browns tried to trade for Cousins, Brown said, “Bad reporting.” Another person familiar with the situation said he didn’t think there was any validity to the report.
Still, the Browns’ desire to add a veteran quarterback is there.
“Every day until we solidify the position, we leave this building thinking about what opportunities might be out there,” Brown said. “So absolutely.”
Three quarterbacks were taken in the first round -- North Carolina’s Mitchell Trubisky, Texas Tech’s Patrick Mahomes and Clemson’s Deshaun Watson -- and the Browns passed on two of them.
They picked Garrett, the consensus best player in this class in the eyes of draft analysts, instead of Trubisky at No. 1. Trubisky, a Mentor native, is widely believed to be the Browns’ favorite quarterback in this class.
“We wouldn’t get into the internal discussions, but we always have good debate,” Brown said of the decision whether to draft Garrett or Trubisky at No. 1. “Even if we’re agreeing, Hue’s pushing me to say, ‘Sash, what are we overlooking?’ And I’m doing the same thing to him. We want to get the picks right, not necessarily get to agreement. We had good, thorough discussions longer than a couple weeks. We’ve been talking about a lot of different players for months, frankly. Since we had our scouts come in off the road in January, we started talking about these guys.”
After the Browns picked Garrett, the Chicago Bears traded up from No. 3 to No. 2, swapping picks with the San Francisco 49ers and drafting Trubisky.
If Trubisky fell to the Browns at No. 12, they likely would have picked him instead of trading the pick.
Of all the quarterbacks in this class, Trubisky seems to best fit the criteria Browns coach Hue Jackson seeks. Jackson has repeatedly stated this offseason he wants a quarterback with arm talent, good processing speed and face-of-the franchise qualities.
Asked when he’ll get his hands on a first-round quarterback, Jackson said, “Soon. When it’s time for us to get one. Obviously, it didn’t happen today, but it’s not like we didn’t try. I guarantee you that. But I think that time’s coming, and it will be here. We’re going to continue to do anything and everything we can to get this position better as we continue to move forward.”
Brown conceded they didn’t know they would lose Trubisky if they didn’t choose him at No. 1.
“No, we didn’t know how the board would fall, frankly,” Brown said. “We didn’t know who would be the first quarterback off. There were a number of quarterbacks there that I think people were talking about, didn’t know if quarterbacks might fall out of 10 and may be there at 12.”
Shortly before the Browns went on the clock at No. 12, the Kansas City Chiefs moved up from No. 27 to No. 10 to pick Mahomes, whose elite arm strength must appeal to Jackson.
When the Browns went on the clock at No. 12, Watson, Ohio State safety Malik Hooker, Alabama defensive lineman Jonathan Allen and tight end O.J. Howard were among the standouts available.
Watson led Clemson to a national title this past season.
Still, the Browns traded down No. 12 to No. 25. In exchange for the No. 12 pick, they received No. 25 and the Texans’ 2018 first-round choice. The Browns also passed on Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz last year by trading down from No. 2 and eventually picked Cody Kessler in the third round.
Did they just not like Watson enough to pick him?
“We just thought the better opportunity for us was to trade back,” Brown replied. “Hue and I, we spent some time with all the quarterbacks that were taken this evening. We did like all of them at certain places. But for us in terms of our plan in building the roster, we felt like it was just better to move back. That shouldn’t be taken against Deshaun. Great young man, and we’ll root for him to have a great career.”
Brown said he had discussed the possibility of trading up or down from No. 12 with several teams before the draft. He refused to disclose whether he would have traded down from the spot if Trubisky or Mahomes were available.
The Browns don’t have a surefire starting quarterback with Kessler, Brock Osweiler and Kevin Hogan on their roster. Until they add someone else, Kessler is the leader in the clubhouse to start the Sept. 10 regular-season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Cleveland.
“We need to solidify the quarterback position,” Brown said. “It’s not solidified right now. So we know we need the guys here to work their tails off, and Hue is going to develop them as much as possible and push them to be their best, and we also know that until we get it solidified, we’re going to continue looking for players all over the league and in college. That may be in next year’s draft. It may be in free agency. It may be via trade. So we won’t rest until we solidify that position.”
The draft will resume at 7 p.m. Friday, and the Browns have seven picks left in rounds 2-7. Notre Dame’s DeShone Kizer, California’s Davis Webb, Pittsburgh’s Nate Peterman, Miami’s Brad Kaaya and Tennessee’s Josh Dobbs are the top-ranked available quarterbacks. The Browns coached in the Senior Bowl this past January, and Webb, Peterman and Dobbs played in the college all-star game.
Could the Browns still draft their starting quarterback for 2017?
“You never know, but we’ll see what happens,” Brown replied. “I wouldn’t want to telegraph too much.”
Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Browns blog at www.ohio.com/browns. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/NateUlrichABJ and on Facebook www.facebook.com/abj.sports.