Cleveland Browns: 7-Round Mock Draft as April nears
By Randy Gurzi
Round 1, Pick 1: Sam Darnold, Quarterback, USC
There’s a big difference between what the Browns will do and what they should do. Obviously, this is only one person’s opinion, but Baker Mayfield has shown to be the best player at the quarterback positon. However, he doesn’t fit into the mold of a pocket NFL passer, so teams will shy away from him.
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Add in the odd comparison to Johnny Manziel (seriously, if you take out the height they are nothing alike) and Mayfield is becoming taboo in Cleveland. Because of that, they take the less talented Sam Darnold out of USC.
He struggled in 2017, but have no fear, the excuses were aplenty. Injuries to the offensive line and receiving corps was to blame, but there’s no way that could be an issue with a team that went 0-16. That kind of excuse making is why the Browns can’t play Darnold in 2017. They have to put a stellar team around him for him to succeed — which seems to be the same for all USC gun slingers.
Fortunately, Darnold isn’t a bad pick. He does have plenty of upside and had it not been for Mayfield he’s probably the easy No. 1 pick. He does come in with less concerns than Mayfield though, which is why Cleveland takes the safer route. It just feels like this is settling.