Wow. My previous post was obviously premature. Phil Savage had virtually promised that we’d get one of the so-called “big five,” but I don’t think anyone alive predicted that both Joe Thomas and Brady Quinn would be Browns today.
I’m glad for Quinn, because he handled this strange day well, and he seems sincere about wanting to join his favorite team. This certainly is the story of the day.
But I feel badly for Charlie Frye, who, it turns out, did not pass the audition. I had given him an incomplete, but it’s now abundantly clear that he’s not considered the team’s quarterback of the future. The local boy with the Kosar poster on his wall has been eclipsed by the Golden Boy whose pre-school picture wearing a Kosar costume has now been seen repeatedly by draft-watchers everywhere.
Adam Schefter of NFL Network reported that Phil Savage had offered Dallas their third-rounder, plus next year’s first-round pick. Their commentators thought this was a no-brainer for Dallas. Maybe we’ll find out the story about how the third-rounder got bumped up to the second-rounder. It’s a high price, but not a ridiculous one. I actually value this year’s high second-rounder significantly more than next year’s first-rounder. Kosar himself cost Cleveland two first-rounders plus a third and sixth, and no one complained a bit.
It will be really interesting to see whether Savage deals Frye and/or Anderson during the draft. I can’t imagine Frye and Quinn co-existing for long. If they can, they’ve got even more character than they’re already given credited for.
Kudos to Savage and crew for landing two of the top players in the draft, and for the solid cap management that will allow the Browns to pay them both.
