Sometimes in television, a show will stumble along for a season or two before really finding its footing. "30 Rock" didn't become the zany, delightfully odd masterpiece it was until a handful of episodes in. "Marvel's Agents of SHIELD" struggled at first before embracing its identity as the little brother of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Television shows change and grow as they progress in order to survive.
Believe it or not, NFL teams go through similar processes. When a team is struggling, it identifies the areas of weakness and attempt to address them. Unfortunately, adjusting on the fly is much harder in football than it is in television.
The Cleveland Browns have a lot of quarterback issues. Veteran Brian Hoyer got benched down the stretch and is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent next month. Johnny Manziel, the team's headline-grabbing pick at No. 22 last year, disappointed mightily in his two starts before ending the season on injured reserve. Now, he's in a rehab facility.
The Browns know they have to upgrade at the quarterback position, which is why they've been heavily rumored as candidates to move up in the NFL draft for a quarterback. But seismic changes in the NFL aren't as easy as rewriting a TV script.
Here are a few reasons why the Browns either can't or won't make a move up the draft board this year.
1. Competition
Franchise quarterbacks are like Academy Awards, everyone wants one but there aren't too many to go around (sorry, DiCaprio). This year, as many as six teams picking ahead of the Browns could be looking for a QB: Tampa Bay, Tennessee, Washington, the New York Jets, Chicago and St. Louis. All of those teams are in a much more advantageous position to grab either Jameis Winston or Marcus Mariota, the top two quarterback prospects in this year's draft. Can the Browns really leapfrog all of those QB-needy teams?
2. Mortgage the Future?
Cleveland has two first-round picks this year (Nos. 12 and 19). However, that may not be enough to trade up as far as they need to go. The general consensus is that Winston and Mariota will go first and second in some order. The most recent trade involving the second overall pick famously saw Washington surrendering three first-rounders and a second-rounder to move up from No. 6 in 2012. The Browns would likely have to top that deal for a chance at drafting either QB. Would they be willing to hand over that much valuable draft capital? It didn't work out too well for the Redskins.
3. Manziel's Trade Value
Sometimes, including a player in a trade helps grease the wheels more than draft picks. Think Kyle Orton and Jay Cutler or the Jets handing over three players as part of the Mark Sanchez deal. The problem here is that Manziel has close to zero trade value. The off-field concerns about his character, work ethic, maturity and drinking issues are abundant. The on-field concerns about his actual ability are warranted after he threw for just 175 yards with zero touchdowns and two interceptions in two starts and four total game appearances.
On TV, audiences are mostly treated to happy endings. Unfortunately for Browns fans, this year's script doesn't look like it's headed for such a conclusion.
