As the Cleveland Browns continue to search for a quarterback who would be worth the eight-figure salary that a franchise passer commands, they’ve spent a six-figure sum on trying to identify the best way to choose a quarterback.
According to Sal Paolantonio of ESPN, the Browns commissioned a study of the quarterback position that cost $100,000 and entailed a great deal of research into which qualities go into success at the most important position in football. The study began under former team President Joe Banner and was only recently completed, after Banner left.
The study, which used advanced analytics to examine every quarterback who has played in the last two decades, concluded that the best quarterback in this year’s draft is Teddy Bridgewater of Louisville.
What we don’t know is how much stock the current decision makers put in the study. If Banner thought it was useful but current General Manager Ray Farmer and coach Mike Pettine think the study is a bunch of hooey, then Browns owner Jimmy Haslam basically flushed $100,000 down the toilet. (Maybe he can make it up by withholding $100,000 worth of rebates from Pilot Flying J customers.) But if the Browns’ brass believes in the study, keep an eye on Bridgewater when the Browns’ second first-round pick comes up, at No. 26.