The Cleveland Browns hope first-round pick Brandon Weeden to win the starting job immediately, according to a report from the Plain Dealer's Mary Kay Cabot.
In her article -- titled "Cleveland Browns hopes [sic] Brandon Weeden starts immediately, noncommittal about Colt McCoy's future" -- Cabot quoted Browns head coach Pat Shurmur saying he expects Weeden to compete for the No. 1 spot:
"We've added three (offensive) players and we expect them to compete to start and contribute what we hope to be immediately. We'll see how it plays out. We got a running back (Trent Richardson), a quarterback and right tackle [Mitchell Schwartz]. We feel like we got three players that are going to be there for us."
Weeden was something of a surprise first-round pick, as most pundits expected him to slip to the second round. His college numbers were certainly gaudy enough to warrant a first-round choice: He threw for more than 9,000 yards over the past two seasons, tossing an incredible 71 touchdowns.
There were, however, some red flags. Firstly, Weeden's age. He was the oldest ever player drafted in the first round. What's more, Weeden put up all those outlandish stats running a breakneck spread offense at Oklahoma State. He was nary under center in college and usually had as many receiver targets as offensive lineman.
Cabot's article also shot down rumors that the Browns discussed the Weeden pick with incumbent quarterback Colt McCoy.
[Shurmur] also said a report by ESPN's Adam Schefter that the Browns told McCoy Thursday that they wouldn't draft a quarterback in the first round "was absolutely false. For the record, we don't consult our players about what we're doing in the draft. I think it's ridiculous to assume that we would say those things. I just want to be strong about the no."
The McCoy trade rumors are still churning.
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