Stop me if you have heard this before the Cleveland Browns' season is a roller coaster of emotions. One week, Deshaun Watson is playing so poor that the Dawg Pound actually boos him after a
season-ending Achilles injury, followed by an odd rant from backup Jameis Winston in support of him.
Don't get me wrong, no matter how much this tortured fan base is ready to move on from the embattled passer, when an injury occurs, it's time to move from football fan to human being. And I'm sure Winston had the best of intentions with his rant. I'm just not sure he is the right guy to be saying it based on the odd tone of his speech and his troubled history. Fast-forward a week, and Winston is leading the Browns to a win over one of the top teams in the league. Yep, that's the emotional acrobatics Browns fans have to stretch for prior to every season.
So, what does the future look like for Cleveland at quarterback? Honestly, no different than it has for decades. I considered a passer here. But I have to be honest, this hasn't been a strong year for the development of college's top passers. Carson Beck, Jalen Milroe and Quinn Ewers have been widely inconsistent.
Cam Ward has managed to elevate his draft stock into the first-round conversation, and while I wouldn't say Shedeur Sanders has improved his stock, I don't think it's dropped from its fringy round-one status either. Still, I have questions about both Ward and Sanders' fit in Kevin Stefansky's offensive scheme.
One could argue Winston is a better fit, and the Browns' Plan A (considering their talent on defense) might be to call Atlanta to enquire about a trade that would reunite Kirk Cousins with his former offensive coordinator. After all, they did draft Michael Penix with the idea of him being the future of their franchise. Having said that, let's see how Winston looks during the second half of the year. Given the success of Baker Mayfield with his fourth franchise (too soon Cleveland?), it's not unreasonable to think Winston could pull off a similar comeback to his career.
~Austin Smith, DraftTek Senior Analyst