Cleveland Browns mock draft: Josh Rosen the savior?

The Cleveland Browns will very likely have two top 10 picks in the 2018 NFL Draft. Can Josh Rosen be the savior? Who else will they snag?

The Cleveland Browns are — again — the worst team in the NFL. Something’s eventually got to give, right?

The Browns entered this season knowing they would probably be competing for a top five draft pick again in 2018, and that has proven to be the case. What they didn’t know is that they would be looking at the possibility of having two selections within the top 10 of the 2018 NFL Draft, picks that can help change the course of this franchise.

The Houston Texans appeared to be on track to be a big time surprise this season when DeShaun Watson put up some of the best numbers we have seen from a rookie quarterback in recent memory. He was injured and placed on injured reserve, ending his season and effectively, the Texans’ season as well.

For far too long, the Browns have neglected the quarterback position. They passed on some really good looking young players in the 2016 and 2017 NFL Draft classes that could come back to haunt them year after year.

2018 is the year everything has to change, and for the Browns, I think Josh Rosen is the guy who is going to come in and be the one that can help change things around quickly.

But it won’t just be Rosen who comes in to give the Browns a shot at competing next season. He’ll have a ton of young players that are still growing on this roster around him, a team with a ton of cap space, and another year’s worth of very high draft choices.

In particular, the Browns will have that second top 10 pick from the Texans, where I think they’ll be able to land another cornerstone piece for this franchise.

Cleveland has already drafted its defensive ‘star’ for the future in Myles Garrett, who has unfortunately struggled badly with injuries this year.

The Browns have also placed Joe Thomas, Jamie Collins, and Emmanuel Ogbah on injured reserve this year.

Obviously, their depth — or lack of it — has been greatly tested this year, which is a major reason why they are currently winless and may remain so throughout this season. With a potential change coming at head coach, it’s reasonable to assume the Browns will not stick with DeShone Kizer as their quarterback going forward, and will use the top pick in the draft on a signal caller.

Rosen, to me, has been the guy that looks the most ‘pro ready’ all season long, even though he might not have as high of a ceiling as someone like Lamar Jackson at Louisville, who is just an absolute freakish athlete.

Rosen is a refined prospect, despite some questions about his off-field demeanor. He runs a pro-style offense at UCLA and mechanically is very sound. He will let some balls sail at times, but for the most part, this is an accurate passer who can hit throws to every level of the field, make plays with his legs, and make a major difference for his team.

Rosen in Cleveland might seem like a poor fit because of how badly this team has failed since 1999 to find that franchise quarterback every team so desperately covets, but Rosen has the ability to be the guy to turn the course of this franchise around.

This young player has the type of attitude that would spit in the face of the losing culture that has become part of the Cleveland Browns. He seems like the type of young man that would take pride in helping turn things around for Cleveland, and the Browns have some intriguing players around him to get it done.

Rosen doesn’t have the best supporting cast at UCLA, but coming to Cleveland where he would be playing with the likes (potentially) of Corey Coleman, Kenny Britt, Josh Gordon, David Njoku, Isaiah Crowell, and whoever else they bring in throughout the course of the offseason, he could be dangerous.

Not only that, but Cleveland fields one of the best offensive lines in the NFL when healthy. Joe Thomas at left tackle is still the best of the best. Joel Bitonio, Kevin Zeitler, and J.C. Tretter are three of the better interior linemen in the league as well.

The Browns do have a question mark at right tackle, which is why I propose the second pick of this unconventional ‘mock draft’ to be Connor Williams, the offensive tackle out of Texas.

Williams could be drafted as high as second overall. He’s that good, and a potential top flight left tackle for years to come in the NFL.

If the Browns could get their hands on a quarterback like Rosen and a tackle like Williams in the same draft, I think the fortunes of the franchise would change rather quickly.

Williams would start off as the team’s right tackle, but could eventually be the successor to Thomas at left tackle as well.

More from NFL Mocks

This pairing just makes so much sense for the Browns, to fortify an offensive line that already has four positions of strength when healthy, and add that fifth and final piece. Of course, Cleveland has taken some interesting risks with high draft picks before, so assuming they will take the guys who are the ‘sure thing’ is no certainty.

But even looking at this proposition financially, if you can build a young team around a quarterback and stud offensive tackle who are on rookie contracts for the next five years, that is a gamble worth taking.

That would allow the Browns to build their team around Rosen (QB), Williams (OT), and Garrett (EDGE) with three players at the three most expensive positions in the league all on rookie contracts.

Supplementing in free agency would be much easier this way, especially if those three cornerstone pieces turn out to be draft hits.

Next: NFL Head Coach Hot Seat

This is the type of draft class that works perfectly to what Cleveland needs to turn things around. Even if they were to use their second first rounder on a defensive player, say Derwin James or Minkah Fitzpatrick, it would be the type of move that could put this franchise back into relevance quickly.

Starting off with Rosen, to me, is a must. If the Browns can find a way to land Connor Williams after that, they will have one of the most coveted young cores of players in the NFL.

Home/NFL Draft