Dawg Pound Daily
FanSided

Mike Mayock’s draft position rankings of interest to Browns

By Thomas Moore

CHAPEL HILL, NC - NOVEMBER 25: Bradley Chubb #9 of the North Carolina State Wolfpack leaves the field with a piece of the Kenan Stadium hedges between his teeth following a win against the North Carolina Tar Heels on November 25, 2016 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. North Carolina State won 28-21. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
CHAPEL HILL, NC - NOVEMBER 25: Bradley Chubb #9 of the North Carolina State Wolfpack leaves the field with a piece of the Kenan Stadium hedges between his teeth following a win against the North Carolina Tar Heels on November 25, 2016 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. North Carolina State won 28-21. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

The Cleveland Browns own 12 selections in the 2018 NFL Draft, so let’s take a quick look at Mike Mayock’s opening draft position rankings.

The NFL Network’s Mike Mayock released his first draft position rankings of the offseason this week.

While it is probably wise to take these type of rankings with a grain of salt, it is worth taking a look as the Cleveland Browns have a pair of picks in the opening round of the 2018 NFL Draft, and six selections among the first 65 picks.

Don’t be fooled; no one outside of head coach Hue Jackson and A.J. McCarron’s agent believe that McCarron is a starting quarterback in the NFL, so unless the Browns sign quarterback Kirk Cousins in free agency (doubtful), they are going to select a quarterback in the first round.

More from Dawg Pound Daily

(Come to think of it, the way he carries on, are we sure that Jackson isn’t actually moonlighting as McCarron’s agent?)

With that in mind, Mayock puts USC’s Sam Darnold at the top of his quarterback list, followed by Wyoming’s Josh Allen, UCLA’s Josh Rosen and Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield.

In reality, you could mix those four players into any order and probably still be accurate as each has questions to overcome:

  • Darnold turns the ball over too much (13 interceptions and nine fumbles last season with the Trojans);
  • Allen is not very accurate (56 percent completion rate in two years as a starter for the Cowboys;
  • Rosen has injury questions and a less-than-ideal arm; and,
  • Mayfield is a tad short for some and needs to address the ongoing questions about quarterbacks who play in the Big 12 conference.

At this point, Browns fans have to trust that general manager John Dorsey and his rebuilt front office, along with an assist from offensive coordinator Todd Haley, will do their homework to identify the quarterback that is the best fit and then trust that work come draft night. (We know, that’s a scary thought. But Dorsey lucked into Aaron Rodgers that one time, so he “knows” what a good quarterback looks like.)

After the Browns take care of the quarterback position, they still have the No. 4 overall selection plus those three selections in the second round, and there are several names on Mayock’s list that fans should get to know very well during the next two months.

Those players include running backs Saquon Barkley (Penn State) and Derrius Guice (LSU), wide receivers Calvin Ridley (Alabama) and Christian Kirk (Texas A&M), defensive ends Bradley Chubb (North Carolina State) and Marcus Davenport (University of Texas-San Antonio), and defensive backs Minkah Fitzpatrick (Alabama) and Denzel Ward (Ohio State).

Next: Browns: 7-round mock if they sign a QB

Dorsey and the Browns, along with the rest of the NFL, will get their next look at all these players at the annual Scouting Combine, which will take place from Feb. 27 through March 5 in Indianapolis.

Home/Browns Draft