Skip to content
Eagles
Link copied to clipboard

Several Browns scouts high on Carson Wentz were reportedly fired before the draft

Did the Browns fire several scouts and talent advisors because they disagreed with the team assessment that Carson Wentz wasn't a good NFL prospect?

The successful debut of Eagles rookie quarterback Carson Wentz and the loss of starting quarterback Robert Griffin III to injury have combined to flood Browns fans in a wave of buyer's remorse.

After all, the Browns entered the off-season in desperate need of a franchise quarterback, and could have drafted Wentz with the second overall draft pick. But the team's new chief strategy officer Paul DePodesta preferred Jared Goff, and didn't think Wentz was "good enough to be a top 20 quarterback in the NFL."

So when the Rams made it clear they were selecting Goff with the first pick in the draft, the Browns traded away their pick to the Eagles in exchange a number of draft picks in a deal Pro Football Focus initially rated an A for Cleveland and a C+ for Philadelphia.

Now, it seems not everyone who worked for the Browns agreed with DePodesta's assessment of Wentz.

CBS NFL Insider Jason La Canfora reports that the Browns fired six members of their scouting team just three weeks before the draft, even though their contracts were set to expire after the draft.

La Canfora also reports that the scouts that were let go disagreed with the team's newly-empowered analytics department and DePodesta that Goff was a greater pro prospect that Wentz.

The Browns and DePodesta did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Publicly, the team isn't second-guessing their decision to pass on Wentz. After their Week 1 loss to the Eagles, Browns head coach Hue Jackson said Wentz played well, but the quarterback just wouldn't have been the right fit in Cleveland.

"He had a good game, a great game if you guys want to term it that, and I respect that. He's a fine young man and they have good coaches and a good organization, and he is going to do well for them, but that was one game," Jackson said in his post-game press conference.

"He played well. Like I said, we'll look back and see where he is over a period of time, but the Browns have to get better," Jackson said.

Browns head of football operations Sashi Brown seconded Jackson's comments later in the week on WKNR 850.

"We're not going to rush to judgment on any guys, much less kind of our draft picks,'' Brown said via Cleveland.com's Mary Cabot. "So we'll wait to see how all that pans out. But we made the best decision for our organization at the time. So it's easy to look at one performance. We'll look at over time and judge."

Meanwhile, things aren't looking good for Browns fans on the RG3 front: