Cleveland Browns mock draft scenarios: Passing on Myles Garrett
By Joel W. Cade
The Cleveland Browns have the first overall pick in the draft. What happens should they choose to pass on Myles Garrett? How do they maximize value?
What happens if the Cleveland Browns decide to pass on Texas A&M’s Myles Garrett with the first overall pick? It is a scary question for some. In the eyes of many scouts and draft experts, there is Myles Garrett as the top overall prospect, then there is everyone else.
But a recently released video shows Myles Garrett begging the Dallas Cowboys to trade Tony Romo and some picks to the Cleveland Browns so the Cowboys could draft him first overall. Garrett later said the video was a joke and wants to be the first overall pick. However, the video has left a bad taste in some Browns fans’ mouths about drafting him first overall.
Disclaimer: It would be a poor decision to pass on Garrett because of the video. A cursory viewing of Garrett’s play against Laremy Tunsil then of Ole Miss and Cam Robinson of Alabama shows Garrett’s star potential. He is the best player in the draft and should be taken first overall.
In this week’s edition of mock draft scenarios, we explore the scenarios that could take place should the Browns decide to pass on Myles Garrett.
The Browns could pass on Garrett to draft a quarterback first overall. This is a plausible scenario. The Browns could fall in love with either of the Big 3 quarterbacks: Notre Dame’s DeShone Kizer, Clemson’s Deshaun Watson, or North Carolina’s Mitch Trubisky, and decide to bypass Myles Garrett to take what they feel would be a franchise quarterback.
Such a move would be ill-conceived for the Browns. In terms of value, an argument can be made for taking someone the team feels is a franchise quarterback first overall. However, such an argument fails to recognize that the draft is market driven.
Right now, Myles Garrett has the most value in the draft market. Simply passing on Garrett for a quarterback fails to maximize the value inherent with the first overall pick in relation to Myles Garrett. The Browns front office will most likely not pass on Garrett for a quarterback.
However, for the sake of our discussion, let’s say they are committed to passing on Garrett but still want to maximize the value of the first overall pick.
In this case, the Browns could trade down with a team looking to come up to the first overall pick to take Garrett. A trade partner should not be hard to find. At this point, the combine and free agency have yet to define the needs of teams coming into the draft market. There may be a team out there willing to overpay for the services of Myles Garrett. If there is, the Browns should be extremely cautious about making a deal.
The Browns need to come out of this draft with impact players. Trading out of the top ten or even the top five would severely limit their chances of landing the draft’s top talented players. A trade out of the number one spot only makes sense if it put them in position to land the best defensive player on their board or to take a quarterback at a lower draft slot thereby minimizing the damage if he turns out to be a bust.
Related: Should Browns be wary of Patrick Mahomes?
Should the Browns trade down they could target a safety like Ohio State’s Malik Hooker or LSU’s Jamal Adams. This would leave No. 12 open to take a dynamic, maybe even spectacular edge rusher still on the board.
Come No. 12, Stanford’s Solomon Thomas or Tennessee’s Derek Barnett could still be available. The possibilities are endless if the Browns do trade down, the key would be to land top players at their positions.
The worst possible move the Browns could make would be to trade out of the first overall pick for a third-year backup quarterback. Not only would they be passing on the best overall player in the draft, but they would also be getting an unproven developmental project in return.
It would be better for the Browns to simply take a quarterback in the draft as a developmental project than to take another team’s backup quarterback.
Next: Would AJ McCarron make sense for the Browns?
The best possible move with the first overall pick is to select Myles Garrett. His talent is clear on tape. He needs refinement in the run game but those issues are fixable with experience at the NFL level. This pick is a no-brainer. Selecting Myles Garrett is the best use of the first overall pick.