For more than four months the Cleveland Browns have been mulling who they would be taking with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. Coming off an 0-16 season the majority consensus has been that they will select a quarterback with their top pick, but a trade for Tyrod Taylor briefly had people considering Penn State running back Saquon Barkley as an option.
However, over the past few weeks it has once again shifted back to most everyone agreeing the Browns will take a quarterback at No. 1, with the question being which one. Josh Allen of Wyoming was once considered the choice of Cleveland’s front office full of “football guys,” but he’s apparently faded a bit and his old tweets resurfacing on Wednesday probably won’t help his case.
Sam Darnold had a great Pro Day in windy, rainy conditions which had scouts and pundits salivating that the USC man could be “the one” and Cleveland even seemed impressed. However, as we near the draft when the Browns officially go on the clock later tonight, the buzz has shifted in favor of Heisman Trophy winner Baker Mayfield out of Oklahoma.
My report from earlier today on who I feel the #Browns have settled on with the #1 pick, barring an unexpected new change. #BakerMayfield pic.twitter.com/CWoml7rUTP
— JosinaAnderson (@JosinaAnderson) April 26, 2018
Josina Anderson’s report on Thursday corroborated that of colleague Adam Schefter and others who have noticed the shift in who the Browns seems to be leaning towards. There’s obviously a chance things change and the Browns could be swayed to go back to Allen or Darnold or Barkley or even Josh Rosen out of UCLA. However, Mayfield is an intoxicating prospect on the field, albeit without the “prototypical” build that Darnold, Rosen, and Allen have, and has more than proven that he has the ability to win and has all the arm talent teams desire at the NFL level.
The main questions have been about Mayfield’s maturity due to various incidents over the years that have ranged from “questionable sportsmanship,” which is overvalued, to “legitimately poor decision-making,” like his public intoxication arrest. However, the Browns seem comfortable with him in that area and as a football prospect, there’s none with better credentials in college than Mayfield.
