I'm not a Browns fan, per se, but I follow them and want them to win. A lot of my friends are Browns fans and I used to be one too, until they were stolen from me in 1995 and then the cheif architect of said larceny became the owner of the new Browns in 1999. None of that has anything to do with the Richardson trade, though, I'm just giving a little background on my point of view in this whole thing. I'm not really emotionally invested like hardcore Browns fans are, but I am interested.
So I've gotten into a few facebook arguments over the trade, and many have thoughfully pointed out to me that I am an idiot for saying the trade is a good deal for the Browns. Of course they are wrong, there are much better arguments for my ignorance than that.
But here's why I think it's a good deal for Cleveland. First off, having a great RB really just isn't that important in the NFL. The Browns should never have drafted Richardson, or any RB, with the 3rd overall pick, and getting a first rounder back for him after he's basically been a bust is a fucking steal. Not as high as the one they wasted on him, but overpaying for something does not raise it's value. They recouped as much as they could from the draft blunder of the old regime, and they got back a lot more than they should have.
Second, he's been banged up and when he's played he only averaged 3.5 ypc, which to put it in perspective is fucking awful. Make whatever excuses you want for his shitty numbers: the line sucks, the passing game sucks, Trent's ribs suck, LeBron James is an asshole, but in the end it is what it is. For a third overall pick he's been a bust, and to make sure I'm beating that dead horse into oblivion he's a bust at a position where even if he wasn't a bust it really wouldn't have mattered much. Again, a first round pick for a bust of a RB.
Third, the Browns are doing something else here. They are stockpiling picks, and draft picks are how you build a team in the NFL. The Packers have done it that way, so have the Pats, the Niners, the Ravens, etc. Ever notice how it seems like every year the Patriots have 112 draft picks? That's not by accident. Teams that try to ride a few superstars always fail, ask the Jets, the Eagles, the Redskins before RGIII. Ask the Broncos (shit, wait, don't ask them, but ask any other team that's tried to do it that way lol). You build a winner by drafting a shit-ton of quality players and hoping most of them stick. You don't win by going all-in on a handful of stars or highly touted picks. That was the Heckert/Holmgren strategy, and that's why you had Weeden and Richardson and basically not shit else trying to win football games.
And Browns fans, if you're still not convinced that this deal was a steal for the Browns, let's look at what Packers fans think. On the Pack's blog at SB Nation.
Yep, 62% of Pack fans (including me) would not have dealt a first rounder for Richardson, even though we need a RB. The sharp reader will also note that this poll reveals that 38% of Pack fans are fucking idiots, but that's not the point. The point is, no matter how bad you need a running back, you don't burn a first rounder on one with a 3.5 ypc average and a history of being banged up. And if somebody offers you a first rounder for a guy like that, you jump on it.
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