One thing the Cleveland Browns have not lacked this offseason has been confidence, which is pretty impressive given that they literally did not accomplish a single meaningful goal over the past year, posting just the second 0-16 record in NFL history.
The confidence is understandable from this point of view, which is that a huge portion of the roster, including very prominent starting positions, has experienced a radical turnover from last season. One need only point out the fact that the entire quarterback room in 2018 is different from the group that the team had last season.
There will also be some new faces catching passes from those new quarterbacks, the most notable among them being Jarvis Landry, for whom the Browns traded from the Miami Dolphins. Landry was under a franchise tag, but Cleveland managed to work out a long-term contract with the Pro Bowler.
He has already expressed his belief that he is the best overall wide receiver in the NFL. He has already previously said that the quarterbacks he id getting a chance to work with in Cleveland are “a lot better than what I had in Miami”.
He is continuing to make comments at least striking close to that vein. Recently appearing over the phone on Rich Eisen’s show on the NFL Network, Landry sang the praises of Tyrod Taylor, the former Buffalo Bills quarterback for whom the Browns traded a third-round draft pick in March.
Telling Eisen that Taylor has looked “amazing”, Landry say that “his leadership, his arm, his accuracy” were impressive and that ”he’s ready, man. He’s the starting quarterback, and I’m sure that, obviously, the decision is up to Hue and the offensive staff, and stuff like that. But I’m sure they’ve been highly impressed with he’s done through OTAs and minicamp”.
Hue Jackson, the team’s head coach, has already stated that Taylor will be the team’s starting quarterback heading into the 2018 season in spite of the fact that they used the first-overall draft pick on quarterback Baker Mayfield.
Jackson has previously suggested that that decision has been influenced by his first two seasons in this post with the Browns, in which he has been forced to rely upon rookie quarterbacks only to watch them struggle.
Second-round pick DeShone Kizer started almost all of his rookie season in 2017 during an 0-16 campaign, and I believe he led the league in interceptions as a result while losing every game. He was traded along with a draft pick for defensive back Damarious Randall.
