There has been a breakaway in the NFL, but not the positive kind. The Browns and Jaguars have fallen far behind the rest of the teams and are painful to watch. Both are 0-2, and are projected to pick in the 1-2 spots of the 2014 draft. The Browns recently traded away their best offensive player in Trent Richardson, and the Jaguars Maurice Jones-Drew is injured. There are major issues on both sides of the ball for both teams, but only one should take a quarterback.
Teddy Bridgewater makes sense for the Jags, but not the Browns. The Jaguars have a pair of quality receivers in Cecil Shorts and Justin Blackmon, as well as a great pass-catching running back in Maurice Jones Drew. Bridgewater will have quality receivers to throw to and will have to put up big numbers as a rookie to keep the Jaguars in the game because the defense is just awful. There’s a lot of pressure on Bridgewater, as he is the most highly touted QB prospect since Andrew Luck. Clowney would help Jacksonville, but Bridgewater would help them more, and would turn them into contenders quicker.
Clowney would be a much better fit for the Browns. Cleveland is a place where QB’s go to die, as they have not had a single sucessful quarterback since their return to the league in 1999. Bridgewater would have absolutely no offensive weapons to help him out, and it’s obvious the QB coaching is awful. Clowney would help create a pass rush that the Browns haven’t had since, well, ever. Combined with Joe Haden in the secondary, the Browns defense could go from a laughingstock to a force to be reckoned with. Plug in veteran Jason Campbell to the starting QB position-he led the Raiders to their only non-losing season in the past 10 years-and let the season play out in 2014. Acquire more offensive pieces before you take a swing at a quarterback in the first round again. It’s never worked before for them to put a young QB in the mess of an offensive that has existed for the Browns since 1999. Eventually, the Browns will be contenders, but not for a while. Clowney starts that rebuilding process.
Teddy Bridgewater will help the Jaguars back into conetntion by 2015 or 2016. The Browns are out of the picture for the forseeable future, but at least they are all-in on rebuilding, acquiring another first round pick for 2014. The Jaguars and Browns will have their day, but it may be a ways away.
Pigskin and Pine Tar 