Time is a flat circle, they always say. Although time is a social construct, history does tend to repeat itself. This is especially true in sports. Really, the world of sports is designed to be cyclical. No one stays at the top for years and years on end, unless of course, you’re the New England Patriots. But even though the Patriots have been at the top of the football mountain for an abnormally long amount of time, they’re a huge exception. Watch closely, and you’ll see the Oakland Raiders history starting to repeat itself in the form of the Cleveland Browns.
History Repeats Itself: The Oakland Raiders and Cleveland Browns Rebuild
The 2014 Oakland Raiders
Man, remember how bad the Raiders were a short three years ago? They started out 0-10 and were out of playoff contention by week 11. But they did have a draft that looked like it could be promising, highlighted by Derek Carr and Khalil Mack. Carr, now the NFL’s second highest-paid player, wasn’t even supposed to be starting. Really, he only started week one because Matt Schaub lost the job. But then, the Raiders saw something in Carr that they just couldn’t deny.
The next year, they hired head coach Jack Del Rio and bam, they were off, collecting a 7-9 record in 2015. The next year, Oakland went 12-4 and achieved their first playoff appearance since 2002. Don’t look now, but they could be serious Super Bowl contenders in 2017.
To review, the Raiders drafted a star pass rusher early, and a young promising quarterback in the second round. Although the rookie quarterback wasn’t supposed to start, he beat out a journeyman veteran from the Houston Texans. Now, the Oakland Raiders are serious championship contenders.
The 2016 and 2017 Cleveland Browns
Last year, the Cleveland Browns were dismally bad at the game of football. With a disgustingly bad offensive line, less than subpar quarterback play, and an abysmal defense, they only managed one win. However, there was a plus to this awful season. The Cleveland Browns rebuild squad procured the number one overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft.
With this pick, they selected a promising, young, and uber-athletic pass rusher in Myles Garrett. With a second first-round pick, they nabbed defense specialist Jabrill Peppers from Michigan. With yet another first round pick, they selected tight end David Njoku from “The U” in Miami. But then came the Browns all-important second-round pick. With the 52nd overall pick, the Browns selected DeShone Kizer from Notre Dame.
To review, the Browns drafted a star pass rusher early, and a young promising quarterback in the second round. Although the rookie quarterback wasn’t supposed to start, he beat out a journeyman veteran from the Houston Texans. Now, the Oakland Raiders are serious championship contenders. Wait a second.
Drawing Parallels
First off, both the Browns and Raiders had poor seasons right before they started rebuilding. The Raiders were 4-12 in 2013, the Browns were 1-15 in 2016. They also both traded for a veteran quarterback from Houston. In addition to that, said veteran quarterbacks both lost the starting jobs to the rookies. In addition to that, both teams drafted a star pass rusher in the first round, and a young, developmental rookie that some teams were afraid to take in the second round.
Time really is a flat circle, my friends. History will repeat itself soon enough, just you watch. This Browns rebuild seems to be going the exact same way as the Raiders rebuild of 2014. Just look how that turned out.
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