In the days leading up to the draft, there was plenty of speculation about the Browns using the No. 12 pick as part of a package to trade up for a quarterback after taking Myles Garrett with the first overall pick.
The Garrett part of the equation was right, but the rest didn’t play out. The Browns traded out of the spot and the Texans moved in to take Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson. Watson is the third quarterback to come off the board and the third to go to a team that traded up to secure his services.
While it may have been a surprise to some that the Browns have again opted not to take a quarterback, it’s no surprise that the Texans took one. They dealt a first-round pick in 2018, which joins the second-rounder next year that they attached to Brock Osweiler in a previous trade with Cleveland, to get a player they hope can solve the biggest weakness on the team throughout Bill O’Brien’s run as the team’s head coach.
It was shaping up to be one again this season with Tom Savage and Brandon Weeden remaining in the wake of the Osweiler trade. Watson’s arrival changes that and it would not be surprising if Watson, who will play with fellow Clemson product DeAndre Hopkins, winds up running the offense by the start of the season.
The Browns now have five picks in the first two rounds next year to go along with No. 25, No. 33 and No. 52 this year. They still don’t have a quarterback, though, and that explains why there are reports of making a run at Kirk Cousins with the Browns again passing on the top signal callers in a draft.