The Cleveland Browns Will Benefit from Brandon Weeden Under Center

It seemed like quite the gamble when the Cleveland Browns took quarterback Brandon Weeden 22nd overall in last week's NFL draft.

Despite all the positive things about Weeden's game, questions still remained—about his durability and age (he'll be 29 a month into the upcoming season), as well as his ability to translate his skills from a spread offense to Cleveland's complex West Coast system.

However, one look at the quarterbacks the Browns have relied on since reforming as a team in 1999 shows that of any of them, Weeden has the greatest chance to be successful.

The quarterbacks of note—Colt McCoy, Brady Quinn, Derek Anderson and Tim Couch—never had the kind of college numbers Weeden has put up in the last two years.

Now, of course, college success doesn't belie success in the NFL. Kellen Moore will likely never be a starter in the league, despite what he did in school, and Tim Tebow, well, he's Tim Tebow. But Weeden's college performance at least provides more than just a modicum of optimism about his ability to translate it to an NFL field.

It is reassuring that Cleveland has brought on a passer who was able to complete for well over 4,000 yards for two years running. McCoy, Quinn, Anderson and Couch had just two total 4,000-plus yard college seasons—Couch in 1998 and Anderson in 2003.

Weeden is bested by McCoy in completion percentage—Weeden averaged a 69.5 completion rate over his four years to McCoy's 70.3—but Weeden heads into Cleveland with a few more tools than McCoy has, things that make him more pro-ready today than McCoy was a week removed from being drafted in 2010.

Weeden's strengths make him an ideal starting quarterback in the AFC North. For one, he's not afraid of pressure, which is something he's going to see a lot of when facing defenses like the Pittsburgh Steelers' and Baltimore Ravens' twice a year.

Also, he has a big, accurate arm, can make deep throws and can adjust plays on the line of scrimmage, which gives him a leg up in this time of transition.

There are reasons to be concerned about him, of course, like his success being helped along by playing in a spread offense and having some seriously athletic receivers to throw to, but it seems right now that he certainly has greater long-term upside than McCoy did coming out of the gate.

It's quite possible that Weeden could suffer a similar fate as McCoy. While McCoy has his faults as a quarterback and was never projected to be in the mold of Tom Brady or Peyton Manning, he certainly was done few favors by the supporting cast around him.

No Browns receiver has had more than 1,000 receiving yards since Braylon Edwards in 2007. Last year, the Browns' top receiver was Greg Little with 709. Contrast this with the Pittsburgh Steelers last season, who had not one but two receivers with over 1,000 yards, and you can see the Browns' problems in the passing game extend far beyond just the man under center.

Cleveland did bring on an offensive weapon in this year's draft who will benefit Weeden—running back Trent Richardson—and Little's issues with drops last year can be ironed out. While it's easy to sigh in exacerbation at Little's struggles in his rookie season and worry that he'll never make significant improvement, think of all the obstacles he faced first.

Little didn't play college ball in 2010, due to suspension. Then he was drafted during last year's lockout, unable to work with his new team.

Once the lockout was lifted, he had little time to learn the Browns' complicated West Coast offense. He probably spent more time on the field concerned with running the right routes and getting the timing right that his ability to concentrate on simply catching the ball was hindered.

But there's going to be a learning curve this year, for Little and Weeden both, and neither may show their true potential on the field in 2012. But, in the long-term, I think they could be quite the effective quarterback-receiver tandem; it will just take patience.

Weeden will need a better, more reliable supporting cast than McCoy had—either that, or he's going to need to make the best out of the receivers he's supplied with. I see Weeden being able to do the latter much faster and with much greater success than McCoy did. Weeden can make more out of less, which bodes well for him to really shine when the right group of receivers comes together.

McCoy may have benefited from another year as starter, but it could have also resulted in more of the same. At least Weeden is a different option, a quarterback quite dissimilar from McCoy, who may thus have a far different early part of his career.

It's too early to do much but assume and project when it comes to Weeden's chances for success, but at the moment, heading into the season with him under center rather than McCoy at least seems more promising than another year of doing the same old thing.

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