A Defensive lean?

Much has been speculated about the direction the Browns are leaning with the 4th pick in this upcoming draft. However little it may be, some light was shed on the draft by Pettine and GM Ray Farmer recently. Here are some of the takeaways - whether they're accurate or intentionally misleading remains to be seen:

Hoyer will be the starter going into the season:

He will be forced to earn it by the combination of one veteran and one draft pick QB or two drafted QBs this year, but nonetheless, he is going to be the starter, and very much deservedly so, assuming he is healthy, and all recent indications are that he will be cleared in the next few days for full activity. 

Source: Cleveland.com

Josh Gordon needs to show more discretion with his public comments - stating that he's sure the Browns are selecting a QB with the 4th pick only accomplishes three things:

1. It shows his immaturity.
2. It alienates his current, and likely for the season, QB.



Source: AFC North Blog

3. If he actually had reason to believe (aka management told him) that the Browns would select a QB at 4, he did the team a massive disservice by announcing their intentions.

So basically, there is no possible outcome out of Gordon's statement that can be construed in a positive light. And even though it doesn't really mean anything, it is very clear that the fans are behind seeing Hoyer at least start the season. It is almost impossible to defend the decision not to at least give him half the year to see what he has. We still need two more QBs, no question, just not to start over Hoyer unless HE loses the job.

The Browns appear to be extremely smart:

Everyone has known for a long time that you can't possibly learn anything from a Pro Day yet the management of teams continue to turn up to these trumped up heavily-choreographed events. If you really nothing to do and are in a very comfortable position I guess I could see killing a day at one of these events. However, it doesn't make very much sense to attend one of these events if you have lots of work to take care of in the off-season, as is the case with the Browns. Why waste a day in an event where you can't learn anything? You learn about these players during your interviews with them, your private workouts with them, and by reviewing their game tape, not by watching them run unimpeded and having 5'11 QBs who weigh 175 soaking wet throwing without a 6'6 OL in front of them.

The Browns will take anyone who can help them:

Grade A bro; but just too physically limited for NFL

I don't believe the Browns, for once, are going to try to force fit a piece that they're hyped into selecting. It appears they've developed a draft board wisely and are going to actually stick to it, not panic and jump all around the draft as in previous years. This doesn't mean they won't trade, but they're going in with a well-evaluated set of principles and appear keen to stick to them. This means that if Clowney or Mack fall to the Browns at 4, it is guaranteed that they will be seriously considered.

Seriously, passing on a talent of this high potential is borderline insane - despite concerns about his motor.

Skipping Manziel's pro day isn't all that crazy

Everyone made a huge deal about how the Browns could not afford to skip anyone's pro days and that it was pure arrogance that they would. I counter that on top of learning nothing from a pro day, your dad's Browns consistently pitched tent at every pro day under the sun and what do we have to show for it? This regime needed to do things their own way. If you have someone in charge who really understands football, you're going to see them stubbornly sticking to fundamentals and shunning various trends that appear in the NFL. To me, this is a case of Farmer doing exactly that. He is objectively evaluating the benefit of attending vs. not attending and, in my opinion, making absolutely the right call. Whether or not they draft him, skipping his pro day is just not a big deal.