The Cleveland Browns kicked off the offseason with a trade not many people saw coming.
They moved on from Dorian Thompson-Robinson to get their hands on Kenny Pickett.
Most people assumed that they had done that to land Pickett as a backup or a third-string quarterback, but it didn’t take long before they dismissed that narrative and talked about him as a starter.
Fast forward to today, and they have four potential starting quarterbacks.
With that in mind, ESPN insider Seth Walder called them out for making this ‘head-scratching’ offseason move, essentially stating that they did it all for nothing:
“The Pickett trade was also a head-scratcher. The Browns didn’t know they were going to draft two quarterbacks when they dealt for him, but they still gave up more for him than the Eagles did a year ago, even though Pickett didn’t show anything to improve his value during the 2024 season,” Walder wrote.
Pickett hasn’t shown signs of promise in his first years in the league, and he barely played last season.
Nevertheless, to be fair, it’s worth noting that he’s never been put in a position to succeed either.
The Pittsburgh Steelers never seemed to be fully committed to him, and while that might raise some questions about him, they didn’t do much to bring out the best in his game.
They had a questionable offensive play-calling situation and not much talent around him.
All in all, Pickett has never been considered a high-end quarterback prospect, and there were doubts about him when he first entered the league.
But as much as the Browns gave up to get him from the Eagles, it’s not like they gave up a lot.
If anything, rolling the dice on a young quarterback who was a former first-round pick isn’t that bad of a gamble.
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