Barkevious Mingo Trade is Why the Browns Are Terrible, Patriots a Dynasty

Barkevious Mingo was a superstar at LSU, a pass-rushing menace off the edge with the speed of a defensive back and the power of a defensive end. He had eight sacks and 15 tackles for loss as a sophomore during a breakout year.

Mingo was taken 6th in the 2013 draft by the Browns and did absolutely nothing. Cleveland is where careers go to die, and Mingo was a complete non-factor with the Browns, and now, he’s been traded. [UPDATE: The Patriots gave up a 2017 5th round pick.] Typical Browns – multiple regimes, multiple losing seasons, and multiple draft picks that amount to nothing.

Amazingly, the Browns already gave up on the 6th overall pick. After three seasons. After seven sacks in 46 games. This is why the Browns are the worst-run franchise in the NFL.

Was he a bad fit scheme-wise? The Browns haven’t said. They clearly didn’t know what to do with him, but asked him to gain 20+ pounds to become a pass rusher. Ray Horton is the team’s defensive coach – again – and it’s safe to say after seeing Mingo as a rookie and again in his 4th year, he didn’t like what he saw. Mingo was only getting 4th quarter reps this preseason, an obvious sign he was on the outside looking in.

From the Patriots point of view, it’s another low-risk, high-reward move. No-lose situation. Twenty other teams would have almost certainly given Mingo a shot – hell, the Jets could have used him as an edge in the 3-4 – but the Patriots were the smart ones. They saw an opportunity and pounced.

Having just traded their star pass rusher, Chandler Jones, New England has an anemic pass rush heading into the season. Let’s turn Mingo loose!

The Patriots are smart. The Browns are stupid. It’s that easy.