CLEVELAND (TNS) — The eternal NFL Draft debate continues to rage: Should teams prioritize raw talent or scheme fit? In a recent episode of Orange and Brown Talk podcast, Browns film analyst Lance Reisland delivered a passionate and definitive answer that should resonate with every front office executive in the league.

“It will always be players over plays,” Reisland declared emphatically, setting the tone for a discussion that cut through the complexity of draft evaluation. His philosophy distills decades of football wisdom into a simple truth that often gets lost amid combine numbers and pro day performances.

The podcast conversation, sparked by a question from listener Tom in Middlebury, Connecticut, quickly evolved into a masterclass on draft philosophy that demonstrates why the best teams consistently prioritize exceptional talent over players who merely fit their existing systems.

Reisland’s core belief is refreshingly straightforward: “If you have better players, you win more games. It’s very, very simple.” This no-nonsense approach challenges the overthinking that plagues many NFL war rooms during draft season.

However, the discussion wasn’t without nuance. Reisland acknowledged the complexity that arises when elite talent doesn’t naturally align with a team’s preferred scheme — pointing to the Browns’ own recent experience with Deshaun Watson as a prime example.

“When Deshaun Watson came from the Texans, he was elite. And what he did, though, was not a fit for Kevin Stefanski’s scheme,” Reisland noted, highlighting the very real challenges coaches face when attempting to integrate transcendent talents into established systems.

This scenario creates a crucible moment for NFL coaches — adapt or fail. “As a coach, I was always told, you have to adapt to your players,” Reisland explained. The best coaches in NFL history have consistently demonstrated this flexibility, molding their schemes around the unique talents of their roster rather than forcing square pegs into round holes.

Orange and Brown Talk host Dan Labbe added another layer to the conversation, suggesting that position specificity matters in this equation. “Some of it is kind of position-based, too,” Labbe observed. “If we’re talking defensive tackles and I have an attacking scheme, I don’t want to take a guy that’s just a big fat guy that takes up space in the middle.”

This positional nuance explains why certain franchises develop clear identity signatures in their draft choices. As Labbe noted, there’s a reason fans say things like “that was such a Pittsburgh Steelers pick” or “that was such a Baltimore Ravens pick.” These organizations have established clear types they target at specific positions.

Reisland acknowledged this reality, using former Browns defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson as an example: “He fits better in a Ravens scheme than he does in a Browns scheme or in a Pittsburgh scheme, because that’s what they want. They want you to hold up on the line of scrimmage, have multiple people hold on to you.”

Yet even with these position-specific considerations, Reisland remained steadfast in his talent-first philosophy. When talent separation is significant, the choice becomes obvious: “If there’s a different separation, a big separation in talent, take talent. I’ll take talent every time.”