Are the Browns getting worse?

The Browns seemingly did everything http://www.packersprosale.com/don-barclay-jersey-c-1_40.html right this offseason. After bottoming out with a 1-15 record in 2016, Cleveland’s de facto general manager Sashi Brown engineered a turnaround plan that jettisoned the veterans who had no place on a rebuilding team, and he invested fully in a youth movement. With a wellspring of emerging talent and an uneven AFC North, 2017 looked like a season where the Browns had nowhere to go but up.
Instead, Cleveland may have found a way to drill into the bedrock and make a home in the abyss. A revamped offensive line has struggled, and even when everything clicks up front the Browns have no playmakers for whom to block. The franchise’s legendary quarterback struggles have continued behind the league’s least efficient offense. The efforts of an upward-trending defense are being wasted.
So how did the Browns fall back into a world where 0-16 remains a possibility?
Cleveland’s quarterback situation makes no sense, which makes perfect sense in Cleveland
DeShone Kizer looked electric in spurts this preseason, but the rookie’s stunning ability to lead his team backward — in five games, he was sacked 12 times, fumbled three times, and threw nine interceptions. His poor performance gave way to 2016 practice squad staple Kevin Hogan, who has thrown interceptions on nearly 7 percent of his passes. Cody Kessler, the 2016 third-round pick who stood out as the team’s best passer as a rookie, has been inactive for all six of the team’s games this fall.
Kizer was always going to be a project, but the start to his NFL career has painted him as a fundamentally broken passer who will need copious time to figure out league defenses. Any optimism Hogan raised in a 16-of-19 performance against the Jets last week was quickly wiped out by a three-interception performance in his first career start:
Cleveland’s aerial performance has somehow gotten worse from 2016, when Kessler, Hogan, Josh McCown, Robert Griffin III, Charlie Whitehurst, and Terrelle Pryor all threw passes for the club. The Browns’ combined passer rating for 2017 is a gruesome 56.7; the terrible passer they’re paying $16 million to play backup for the Broncos this season, Brock Osweiler, had a 72.2 rating in his much-maligned ‘16 campaign.
This is all extremely familiar for a franchise that’s started 28 quarterbacks since being revived in 1999. Cleveland’s passing game high point lies somewhere in the realm of Derek Anderson. That’s because ...
The Browns have had premier draft picks but haven’t turned those players into stars
Since 2010, the Browns have had 13 first-round http://www.49ersprosale.com/kyle-juszczyk-jersey-c-1_36.html draft picks. Only one of those players has ever seen a Pro Bowl: current Steeler Joe Haden. Aside from him, only one of those players has spent more than two seasons as a primary starter in Cleveland — Danny Shelton.
After that, the names on the list of draftees gets grim. Brandon Weeden. Trent Richardson. Justin Gilbert. Barkevious Mingo. Johnny Manziel. 2012, 2013, and 2014 draftees are the backbones of franchises like the Raiders, Titans, and Steelers. For Cleveland, those drafts are just a toilet filled with wasted picks.
More recent years hold some potential — though Corey Coleman’s inability to stay healthy threatens to derail his career. Shelton is a solid space-clogger up front. Myles Garrett has three sacks in two professional games. Jabrill Peppers is flawed, but athletic enough to develop into a plus starter in the Cleveland secondary.
The biggest concern in 2017 is the team’s willingness to pass on Deshaun Watson. Cleveland held the 12th pick and had the opportunity to snatch up the College Football Playoff champion and crown him their cornerstone quarterback. Instead, they traded the selection to Houston for a pair of first-round picks and a third-rounder. That gives the team some valuable draft capital for 2018, but the Browns’ inability to convert potential into production means the move may never pay off.
Meanwhile, Watson has been one of the league’s most exciting rookies since earning the Texans’ starting role. He leads the league with 15 touchdown passes. In his last three games alone, he’s accounted for 13 http://www.nemiza.com/ryan-switzer-jersey-c-1_41.html touchdowns. In their last three games, the Browns have scored four offensive touchdowns.
What’s even tougher for the Browns is head coach Hue Jackson’s insistence he knew Watson was special all along.