Jacob Phillips Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

The Browns currently have three quarterbacks on their roster — Deshaun Watson, Joshua Dobbs and Kellen Mond — and yet, that didn’t stop Cleveland from swinging for the fences for a signal-caller in this year’s draft. No, Cleveland didn’t draft UCLA’s Dorian Thompson-Robinson with the 140th overall pick to unseat Watson as the team’s starter. But, he brings a significant amount of potential to the team’s quarterback room and a bevy of starting experience at that.

A rare five-year starter — thanks to the extra COVID-19 year — Thompson-Robinson made 48 starts for the UCLA Bruins. Over five collegiate seasons, he completed 63 percent of his passes for 10,710 yards with 88 touchdowns and 36 interceptions. In Thompson-Robinson’s final collegiate season, the 23-year-old completed 69 percent of his passes for 3,154 yards with 27 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He was also the team’s second-leading rusher and averaged 5.5 yards per carry with 12 rushing touchdowns.

Those numbers are certainly impressive enough to warrant a swing. Neither Dobbs nor Mond has cemented themselves as the backup on Cleveland’s depth chart, so perhaps Thompson-Robinson can cement himself as the backup of the future for the Browns. It also helps Thompson-Robinson’s case that he ran a pro-style offense under Chip Kelly at UCLA.

Those in the NFL world reacted to the massive Browns quarterback move on social media:

[Cleveland Browns]

About Sam Neumann

Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.