{"id":20207,"date":"2017-05-03T18:37:04","date_gmt":"2017-05-03T22:37:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonprofootball.com\/?p=20207"},"modified":"2021-03-09T21:53:12","modified_gmt":"2021-03-10T02:53:12","slug":"sashi-brown-turning-browns-around","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2017\/05\/03\/sashi-brown-turning-browns-around\/","title":{"rendered":"In Sashi We Trust: How Sashi Brown is Turning the Cleveland Browns Around"},"content":{"rendered":"

On January 3rd, 2016, the Cleveland Browns promoted\u00a0Sashi Brown<\/strong>. Officially listing him as\u00a0Executive Vice President of Football Operations, Brown essentially replaced\u00a0Ray Farmer<\/a><\/strong>. Sure,\u00a0Executive Vice President of Football Operations is a nice term, but it basically means\u00a0General Manager. Since becoming pseudo-GM, Brown has made some\u00a0serious<\/em> changes to the Browns. Along with head coach\u00a0Hue Jackson<\/strong>, Brown tore Cleveland’s roster down (almost completely) before the 2016 season. Following that, he traded away a chance at\u00a0Carson<\/strong>\u00a0Wentz<\/strong><\/a> for a boatload of draft picks.\u00a0Following that<\/em>, he was able to snag the number one pick in the 2017\u00a0NFL Draft. In short, Brown has been a management wizard since assuming his position. Truthfully, he is beginning to change the culture of the Cleveland Browns.<\/p>\n

In Sashi We Trust: How Sashi Brown is Turning the Cleveland Browns Around<\/h2>\n

Building for the Future<\/h3>\n

When Sashi Brown traded away the prospect of Carson Wentz, he made Cleveland’s message strikingly clear. That message was to fans, telling them to “Trust the Process.” Much like the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers, the Browns were basically bereft of talent on their roster. And much like the Sixers again, they wanted to build through the draft.<\/p>\n

Truthfully, the Eagles traded the farm, the kitchen sink, and then some in exchange for Wentz. And for the Browns, that’s an amazing deal. Although the Browns have\u00a0drafted horribly for the past two decades, there is always hope. With so many picks, Sashi Brown knew that\u00a0something<\/em> had to stick. And from Wentz came many players of the Browns’ 2017 NFL Draft, including\u00a0Jabrill Peppers<\/strong><\/a> and\u00a0DeShone Kizer<\/strong><\/a>. Now, Wentz has proven himself to be a possible franchise quarterback. However, Cleveland got amazing value from this trade. This shouldn’t surprise fans in the slightest; truthfully, this is what Sashi Brown does best.<\/p>\n

Tremendous Value<\/h3>\n

Let’s go back to DeShone Kizer for a bit. In an early November mock draft, Kizer ranked second overall<\/em>. The Browns got him late in the\u00a0second round<\/em>. Now, does Kizer have his flaws? Yes, of course; every quarterback does when coming out of college. Is he “ready for prime-time” just yet? Maybe not. But he’s also working with\u00a0Hue Jackson, a coach that often brings the best out of quarterbacks. The Browns got their head coach a top-flight signal-caller to work with. And they got him with the 52nd overall pick.<\/p>\n

Looking back to that same mock draft, the first and third overall picks were\u00a0Myles Garrett<\/strong><\/a> and\u00a0Jabrill Peppers. With the first overall draft pick, the Browns selected Garrett. Additionally, they took Peppers with the 25th pick (after trading down once again from the 12th pick). This means that, according to that mock draft, the Browns got the top three players in the 2017\u00a0NFL Draft.<\/p>\n

The Technical Approach<\/h3>\n

“Analytics” is a word that Browns fans throw around a lot nowadays. Oftentimes, the name Sashi Brown appears in the same conversation. Spearheaded by\u00a0Paul DePodesta<\/strong> (the\u00a0Moneyball<\/em> guy), Cleveland’s analytical approach to football has taken team media by storm. Specifically, the Browns have overhauled two areas and made them an exact science.<\/p>\n

The Draft<\/h4>\n

Again, we come back to the NFL Draft. Now, the Browns absolutely dominated<\/i> the 2017 NFL Draft, with ten total picks. And once again, this was\u00a0Sashi Brown’s handiwork. According to the analytics approach, quantity is greater than or equal to quality. And with ten of the 253 total picks, that’s almost 4%. And the Browns, or at least it looks this way right now, hit a home run on this draft. Coming out of the first round with Garrett, Peppers,\u00a0and<\/em>\u00a0David Njoku<\/strong><\/a>, the Browns are built for the next ten years. Looks like analytics might just be working after all.<\/p>\n

Free Agency<\/h4>\n

So, what did Brown and the analytics department do about the one position you\u00a0can’t<\/em> evaluate with numbers? The offensive line? Well, they went with the other option; sign already proven talent. In addition to the sub-par offensive line class in the Draft this year, the Browns led the league in free-agency money. And so as free agency started, Cleveland went out and signed\u00a0J.C. Tretter<\/a><\/strong> and\u00a0Kevin Zeitler<\/a><\/strong>, a top-ten free agent. After having one of the worst offensive lines last year, the Browns have heavily revamped their line into the league’s top ten.<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/h3>\n

In short, Sashi Brown has been a\u00a0magician<\/em> on both the draft board and the market. Along with Hue Jackson and Paul DePodesta, he is in the process of turning the Browns around. As of right now, it looks like it could be working. Most importantly, he has great eyes for value while drafting. Secondly, he knows exactly which free agents to sign, and when to sign them. Finally, he and the Browns are building for the future of the team. And\u00a0that<\/em> should be the music to the Dawg Pound’s ears.<\/p>\n

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