Cleveland Browns: Staff predictions for the first and fourth picks

Writer: Randy Gurzi

The Browns seem to be all in on Sam Darnold. They ignored the Pro Day of both Josh Rosen out of UCLA and Baker Mayfield out of Oklahoma. Then they sent everyone that mattered to Darnold’s workout at USC. That means he’s the guy, right? Probably.

Doesn’t mean it’s the right pick though. Darnold may have wowed a lot of people, but I just don’t see it. He displayed happy feet, poor mechanics and some bad decision making. Selecting him is all about projecting he can get it figured out. At No. 1 you should project nothing. While I sadly believe Darnold will wind up being the pick, Mayfield is the choice here because he’s the better player. And don’t start the Johnny Manziel comparisons, these two are nothing alike.

The one thing that really was solidified with the New York Jets moving up to the No. 3 pick was the fact that Penn State running back Saquon Barkley will not go there. They are eyeing a signal caller, and the New York Giants could do the same at No. 2. Or, they could be trading that pick with the Buffalo Bills who keep moving up and probably don’t love A.J. McCarron as much as Hue Jackson does.

Should the quarterbacks go at one, two and three, that leaves the biggest prospect in the draft there for the taking at No. 4. The Browns would be foolish to pass on Saquon Barkley here, especially if the reasoning is because they just signed Carlos Hyde.