Say what you will about the Browns’ need to select a left tackle, but what if there’s a scenario where Clemson linebacker Isaiah Simmons falls to the Browns at number ten or if they trade up and Simmons is available?
Yes, the Browns need a tackle, and they’ve also shown throughout the off-season they’re in win-now mode. Win-now as in, ‘Sweep Pittsburgh and Baltimore,’ something the team has never done in the same season. It took until 2019 for the Browns to beat Baltimore, Pittsburgh, and Cincinnati in the same year.
Does drafting a left tackle really help the Browns, or would drafting a blue-chip prospect like Simmons help the team win now?
Especially when it comes to overcoming the endless obstacle that is Pittsburgh and Baltimore.
While there may be a consensus to take a Tristan Wirfs or Jedrick Wills Jr., history shows an elite left tackle doesn’t help the Browns win.
Isaiah Simmons Gives the Browns the Best Chance to Win
The Joe Thomas Era
Future Hall of Fame tackle Joe Thomas played over 10,000 consecutive snaps from 2007 to 2017.
The result? One winning season in eleven years.
Want more fun? The Browns took a one-way trip to the AFC North cellar each year Thomas played in Cleveland, except in 2007 and 2010.
Cleveland’s offense sputtered with Thomas. Quarterbacks went on injured reserve. The offense failed to score a single touchdown over the final six games in 2008. Thomas played every offensive snap.
He played every offensive snap from 2009 to 2016. The Browns never scored over 308 points in that time span. They never finished with a better record than 7-9.
Thomas never made the offense better. He never made the team better. And he played on the same line as Alex Mack, Joe Bitonio, and Mitchell Schwartz, to name a few. The line wasn’t barren. The number of Ws in the win-column were.
The 2019 Browns Defense
It started with a 43-13 blowout against Tennessee. It ended when the Browns allowed 30+ points in each of their final three games – the last of which came against the 1-14 Bengals.
Per Pro Football Reference, Cleveland finished 20th in total defense and 30th in rush defense, allowing five yards per rush. The Browns ranked seventh in pass defense, but it’s more a reflection on the poor run defense than it is on the talents of a revolving door that was cornerback and safety in 2019.
They have to contend with a returning Ben Roethlisberger for two games, whose elusiveness and ability to shake pass rushers has haunted the Browns since 2004. Don’t think Roethlisberger’s finished when in today’s game, aging quarterbacks like Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, and Drew Brees continue to dominate.
If you count Roethlisberger out, he will prove you wrong. He literally did it to the Browns in 2015 when he threw for 379 yards after coming off the bench with a foot injury. Former backup Landry Jones started the game but left with an injury in the first quarter.
In 2019, the Browns defense let Duck Hodges light them up when the quarterback averaged 10.1 yards per pass attempt and a 95.2 quarterback rating.
Why Isaiah Simmons
If Simmons is available on April 23rd, it’s a mistake to take a tackle. If Simmons falls below Miami at number five, general manager Andrew Berry needs to work the phones and grab him.
Simmons can step in and immediately help Cleveland stop reigning NFL MVP Lamar Jackson, who, along with the high-powered Ravens offense, tore defenses apart in 2019.
Cleveland’s defense suffered in 2020 when they lost Christian Kirksey. They further suffered this off-season when they let Joe Schobert sign with Jacksonville. Linebacker Mack Wilson’s a staple, but who else is there? B.J. Goodson’s been up and down his whole career. Goodson isn’t an adequate replacement for Schobert.
Goodson started thirteen games for the Giants in 2018. He was okay, recording 61 tackles and a half-sack. He had two interceptions which serve as bonus material. He’s not even a poor man’s Joe Schobert.
Goodson isn’t the answer to stop Jackson or even the 38-year-old Roethlisberger.
A scouting report from NFL.com states Simmons has “unique ability to spy and shrink the field against dual-threat quarterbacks.”
He’s the answer to quarterbacks who thrive in a zone-read system, and as NFL.com further states, “the antidote for spy needy quarterbacks.”
Simmons runs a 4.39 forty, allowing him to keep up with Jackson or any dual-threat quarterback Cleveland faces. And when paired on the same defense with Myles Garrett, it gives the Browns a frightening one-two combo.
Conclusion
Drafting a tackle might keep Baker Mayfield’s jersey cleaner, but recent history shows an All-Pro tackle never helped the Browns win. They had arguably the best tackle in football for eleven seasons and never earned a playoff berth.
Draft the player who will help the Browns win now. Isaiah Simmons is that player who will help stall Baltimore. The key to beating Baltimore is to stop their explosive and revolutionary offense and to slow down Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger.
Not a single tackle on the board does that.
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