NFL executive says it will be a ‘disaster’ if the Browns take one of the top quarterback prospects with the second pick in the draft

Michael Conroy/AP

With the NFL Draft just three weeks away, the NFL world may be souring on the presumed two best quarterback prospects.

California’s Jared Goff and North Dakota State’s Carson Wentz have been considered the top prospects in the draft, both likely to go in the top 10. After wowing at his Pro Day, Wentz has gotten consideration as a candidate for the No. 2 pick to the quarterback-needy Cleveland Browns.

In a report from CBS’s Jason La Canfora on the rising stock of Michigan State’s Connor Cook, an unnamed NFL executive ripped Goff and Wentz, going as far as to say Wentz would be a “disaster” with the Browns.

“We have [Cook] right up there with the other two or three (quarterbacks), actually even higher than a few of them. We like the kid a lot. We don’t think there is a whole lot separating some of these quarterbacks and Cook is the most ready to play. Goff, look at his tape against Utah, it’s not pretty. And Wentz, there is a lot to like there, but he needs to go somewhere and sit for a year or two and develop. If Cleveland takes him at two that is going to be a disaster.”

The logic seems to be that unlike other teams in the top ten, the Browns don’t have a great option to start at quarterback over Wentz. Yes, they have Robert Griffin III and Josh McCown (for now), but neither are penciled in as starters, and for a rebuilding team like the Browns, it may be more beneficial to start Wentz right away. According to this executive, that wouldn’t be good for Wentz.

Interestingly, this executive’s thoughts come at the same time as an ESPN report that suggests the Browns’ new, analytics-driven front office is a bad fit with new head coach Hue Jackson. The report paints Jackson as an old-school thinker who trusts the eye test more than what statistics say. A disjointed front office and coaching staff is never a good match for a young player of any position, never mind a potential franchise quarterback.

Granted, this is just one executive’s opinion. However, fit matters in the NFL, and it will be interesting to see if Wentz is thrown into the fire on a franchise in transition like the Browns, or if he’ll be drafted by a team that can afford to let him develop at his own pace.