Browns Didn't See Carson Wentz as a Top 20 Quarterback in the NFL

Browns chief strategy officer Paul DePodesta admits that they didn't see Carson Wentz as a top 20 NFL quarterback.

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On April 20, the Philadelphia Eagles gave up a lot to acquire the Cleveland Browns' No. 2 overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft. In the trade, the Browns received the Eagles' first-round pick (eighth overall) for this year, a third-rounder, and a fourth-rounder, and their 2017 first-round pick, as well as their 2018 second-round pick in order for Philly, all in order to grab North Dakota State quarterback Carson Wentz

By making a major play for Wentz, the Eagles are essentially claiming that he will be their quarterback of the future. Cleveland, however, didn't see him as a top 20 quarterback in the league. “We have to make judgments on the individual players and we’re not always going to be right," Browns chief strategy officer Paul DePodesta told Tony Grossi of ESPN Cleveland. "But in this particular case, we just didn’t feel it was necessarily the right bet to make for us at this time. Again, it comes down to individual evaluation of a player. We will not always be right on those type of things." 

At the time of the trade, the Browns' quarterback depth chart was bleak. But by trading away the pick, the organization said that they would rather test the free agent market, instead of picking someone who they believe wouldn't have pan out. "In a given year, there may be two or three NFL-ready quarterbacks at the college level. In another year, there literally may be zero. There just may be not be anybody in that year who’s good enough to be a top 20 quarterback in the NFL," DePodesta said. "Even though you have a desperate need for one, you have to resist the temptation of taking that guy just because you have a need if you don’t believe he’s one of those 20 guys at the end of the day. I think that’s the hardest part, just maintaining your discipline because you have the need. That’s what we did this year.”

For the sake of long-suffering Eagles fans, hopefully Wentz pans out. 

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