Our weekly chat with Bill Wills of WTAM covers Hoppin’ Frog’s awards, the upcoming Akron Art & Ale and Boss Dog Brewing in Cleveland Heights.

2 - 8-MARC BONA - WILLS - WTAM

Kirk Cousins is a top-15 quarterback who could allow the Browns to maximize their draft picks while getting this franchise back to winning quickly.

So says Evan Silva of Rotoworld, who joined Doug Lesmerises on Takes By The Lake from cleveland.com this week to talk all about the Browns.

Doug and Evan talked cocoon thinking in the NFL, where unique thoughts are discouraged; the misuse of young Browns players last year by Hue Jackson; whether this Browns front office is as accomplished as many people think; and what is the best path for the Browns this offseason.

Evan thinks it starts with Cousins.

Ep. 70: Kirk Cousins opens other paths for Browns to succeed

Football analyst Warren Sharp joins Doug Lesmerises to explain the story he wrote on how the Browns have the most draft capital of any team in the modern NFL Draft era. You knew they had a lot of picks, and a lot of high picks, but Warren explains just what that means.

So is that many picks in one draft a smart idea? Or should the Browns have spread out their picks and not traded down so much to build for 2018? Sharp makes the case that building your roster first, then drafting your rookie quarterback, is the best way to maximize the five-year window you get when a rookie is on a manageable contract for a quarterback.

Doug also explains why he thinks this 2018 draft is a good one for the Browns to have two of the top four picks. Because not every draft includes three quarterbacks like Sam Darnold, Josh Rosen and Baker Mayfield and three other premium players like Bradley Chubb, Minkah Fitzpatrick and Saquon Barkley.

Ep. 71: The Browns can own the draft, and why they're smart to draft their rookie QB now

The Browns traded for their new starting quarterback in Tyrod Taylor and traded for Jarvis Landry, who led the NFL in receptions a year ago. Add that to Josh Gordon, David Njoku, Duke Johnson, Corey Coleman (if they keep him) and the running back they should draft, and an offense appears to be forming.

On this Takes By The Lake, veteran NFL writer Andrea Hangst, who has covered the Steelers, the Browns, the AFC North and the entire NFL, joins Doug Lesmerises to talk about how first-year Browns offensive coordinator Todd Haley will use all those pieces. Hangst covered Haley in Pittsburgh and understands how he makes an offense work.

Doug and Andrea also break down the trades, examine the opportunity the Browns have in an aging NFC North, discuss how Haley might use Saquon Barkley if he winds up a Brown, and examine the best way for the Browns to use the No. 1 and No. 4 picks in the draft.

Doug also drops in a rant about what people are writing and saying about Sashi Brown in the aftermath of these trades.

Ep. 72: Browns trades build an offense, can mad genius Todd Haley make it work?

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