The Washington Redskins vault past the Cleveland Browns for RG3. Opportunity missed, or bullet dodged?

Well Browns fans, if you had dreams of RG3 wearing a Cleveland Browns Jersey it’s time to wake up. The Washington Redskins secured their franchise quarterback on Friday night by outbidding the Cleveland Browns for the number two overall pick in this year’s upcoming NFL draft.

After realizing that they were not going to entice Peyton Manning to play in the same division as his brother Eli, The Redskins mortgaged their future by putting up their 1st and 2nd round picks this season along with two more 1st round picks over the 2013 & 2014 drafts. They have done this in an effort to guarantee the opportunity to select Robert Griffin III. But is one prospect worth all that? And what does this mean for Cleveland? Is this yet another opportunity stolen from us by failures past, or is this divine intervention?

The Cleveland Browns are no strangers to first round draft busts. It is a long list with names like Tim Couch, Gerard Warren, William Green, and Courtney Brown just to name a few. So clearly just because a prospect is a top 10 pick does not mean that a team is getting a top 10 player. So let us go back into history and look at some draft day trades. Some draft trades are celebrated as genius, and others so bad they have become the compared measurement of failure.

First let us look at a draft trade that paid off. In 1985 the San Francisco 49ers  traded their first two picks (1st & 2nd rounds), along with swapping positions in the 3rd round with the New England Patriots in order to select Jerry Rice 16th overall. He was a wide receiver from Mississippi Valley State University who impressed then 49ers head coach Bill Walsh. When Rice retired from football in 2004 he owned countless NFL records, a few Super Bowl rings, and title of “Best wide receiver of all-time.”

Next let’s look at a rather questionable draft selection. In 1999 (While Browns fans celebrated the selection of Tim Couch 1st overall pick)  the New Orleans Saints traded every one of their draft picks in 1999, and their 1st & 3rd round picks in 2000 to the Washington Redskins in order to move up to 5th overall. With that pick the Saints took the running back from Texas Ricky Williams. This was the first time in NFL history that a team selected only one player in the draft. Williams only played three seasons in the Big Easy before going to the Miami Dolphins. Despite a brief retirement from 2004-2005, and failing multiple drug tests for marijuana, Williams did eventually become a positive role model in the NFL. But Williams never became more than just an average running back.

Finally we come to the greatest draft bust of all time. In 1998 (during the Cleveland Browns exodus from the NFL) analysts, scouts, coaches, and fans speculated over the top two prospects in the 1998 draft. On one hand you had QB Peyton Manning from Tennessee, and on the other hand was QB Ryan Leaf from Washington State University. Both were even in almost every way. The only real differences that scouts and analysts pointed out was that Leaf had a stronger arm, but Manning was more mature and polished. Regardless of which one went first it was assumed that both would be franchise quarterbacks in the NFL.

Indianapolis had the first selection and we know who they took (Manning). The Arizona Cardinals had the 2nd overall pick followed by the San Diego Chargers at number three. San Diego desperate for a franchise quarterback (Does this sound familiar?) traded 2 first round picks, a third round pick, and Pro Bowler Eric Metcalf to the Cardinals for the opportunity to move up one slot and select Ryan Leaf. At first Leaf preformed well winning his first to NFL starts, but his third start essentially sums up his career. Leaf was 1 for 15 with a total of 4 yards. He also threw 2 interceptions and had three lost fumbles. Leaf was eventually benched after throwing just 2 touchdowns against 13 interceptions in a 9 game stretch.

And so it is written from that point forward every NFL draft bust is compared to Ryan Leaf. His story serves as a cautionary tale to every NFL franchise. His story compels them to “choose wisely” as the knight said to Indiana Jones (Indiana Jones: And the Last Crusade). No team, no coach, no player wants to be in the same conversation as the greatest NFL draft bust Ryan Leaf.

So if you have already written off the Cleveland Browns because they have missed out on getting a “can’t miss” franchise quarterback in Robert Griffin III then think about the possibilities. For every Payton Manning there is a Ryan Leaf.

Written by: Michael W. Youngman

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