First things first

Build the roster first.

That should be the mantra for the Browns as the 2017 National Football League’s college draft approaches.

Print it on banners, sheets of paper, anything and festoon it all around the club’s headquarters in Berea, particularly around the bunker as a reminder on draft night.

Build the roster first.

Despite what Sashi Brown and his minions believe, Cleveland is in desperate need of help just about everywhere up and down the current roster. If they believe otherwise, then there is little hope for what will take place in about 10 days.

If they believe all this team needs is a quarterback to yank it from the dunghill this franchise has wallowed in since Jimmy Haslam III paid a billion bucks for it, then it will be more of the same old, same old.

How many different ways can I be more explicit? This is a bad team that needs a strong supporting cast for whomever is anointed the next franchise quarterback. That time is not now.

But if we are to believe even a sliver of what is being bandied about with regard to the top quarterbacks in this lottery, the Browns once again unfortunately will journey down the wrong road.

Whether it’s Mitch (Mitchell) Trubisky or Deshaun Watson or Patrick Mahomes Jr. (forget DeShone Kizer, whose star has plunged significantly), most draft experts believe one will wind up in the Seal Brown and Orange.

Unless, of course, someone with clout at 76 Lou Groza Blvd. steps up and strongly urges those in charge of the draft to stop and think. Stop and think of the kind of a team, the kind of an offense, you want to turn over to a young, wet-behind-the-ears quarterback.

Build the roster first.

It will take at least two more drafts, assuming those making the selections do so wisely, for this franchise to reach a talent-rich point that is ready to support such a young leader.

Everyone was stunned when rookie Dak Prescott took over as the Dallas Cowboys quarterback and led them to the playoffs last season. (Of course, having fellow rookie Ezekiel Elliott as his running back didn’t hurt.)

But the Dallas offense was ready to help the fourth-round draft choice succeed to the point where he kept Tony Romo tethered to his clipboard when the veteran returned following an injury in an exhibition game.

Prescott, taken well after the Browns selected Cody Kessler in the third round, was in the right place at the right time. The Cowboys had a terrific offensive line and a solid receiving corps. All coach Jason Garrett had to do was plug in Prescott and Elliott.

Even if the Browns had selected Prescott instead of Kessler in the third round last year, they still would have wound up with the NFL’s worst record. No way he would have been the league’s offensive rookie of the year and named to the Pro Bowl.

That’s because the Cleveland roster was embarrassingly talent-poor. Prescott would have struggled as much as Kessler. The supporting cast last season, especially on offense, was awful.

That supporting cast must be upgraded substantially this season if this team has any designs on emerging from the gigantic hole in which it currently resides. That means numerous weak areas must be strengthened.

Passing on the top quarterbacks this year will not hurt the Browns. It is far more important to assemble the pieces and parts on both sides of the football before addressing arguably the most important position on the team.

Build the roster first.

One more time with feeling: BUILD THE ROSTER FIRST!

Then go out and get your quarterback.