A big part of the Cleveland Browns' draft plan goes back to one central question: Do they still believe in Colt McCoy?
McCoy struggled to move a bad offense last season, then struggled to get off the turf after James Harrisonlaid a nasty lick on him in Week 14.
The Browns were outbid by the Washington Redskins in the RG3 sweepstakes, and general manager Tom Heckert hasn't ruled out taking a QB with one of his first three picks in the draft.
The writing might seem like it's carved into the wall for McCoy, but Heckert says the Browns still believe in the QB.
"We like Colt," Heckert said Thursday, according to The Associated Press. "Left tackle's probably not where we'd go, but most other positions, if we find somebody we think is a really good player and is better than that guy, we're going to do it. But that's all positions. It's not Colt.
"We like Colt. We think Colt can play. I know everybody talked about the Washington deal, but it's not like you're saying Colt's a bad quarterback by doing that."
Maybe not, but the Browns' hard pursuit for the No. 2 overall pick in next week's NFL draft showed they were willing to bank on an unknown entity over continuing to develop McCoy. This wasn't the same as pursuing Peyton Manning.
With Robert Griffin III out of the picture, Ryan Tannehill has become the QB most attached to Cleveland. Tannehill has seen his stock rise in the weeks leading up to the draft, but Heckert said the QB has remained static on the Browns' board.
"People talk about Ryan Tannehill flying up after his workout -- that's just simply not true," Heckert said. "He had a good workout, but to be honest with you, I haven't seen a whole lot of people who have bad workouts. He's a good football player."
Heckert could be using his poker face there, but we'll take him at his word when he says Cleveland could go in several different directions with its picks. As McCoy surely can attest, the Browns have plenty of gaps to fill.
