NFL Draft 2018 – Did The Cleveland Browns Blow It Again?

NFL Draft 2018 – Did The Cleveland Browns Blow It Again?
16:17, 27 Apr 2018

Will Cleveland’s run of organisational misery continue or did new GM John Dorsey get it right.

Count on the Cleveland Browns, one of the worst-run teams in professional sports for the last 25 or so years, to go into the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft with two picks in the top four and come out with the 8th and 12th-ranked prospects.

Two NFL-ready quarterbacks (Sam Darnold, Josh Rosen), a generational talent at running back (Saquon Barkley) and a polished pass-rusher (Bradley Chubb) were the consensus top four but with the first pick Cleveland chose Baker Mayfield, the Heisman Trophy-winning QB from Oklahoma. While it may turn out that the undersized but feisty and supremely accurate Mayfield’s skill set fits perfectly into the NFL game but new general manager John Dorsey was touted as a football man and therefore would have been expected to play it safe.

When the Browns came to pick again, the best defender available – Chubb – was still on the board, as was talented guard Quenton Nelson. Chubb would have given opposing QBs sleepless nights paired with last year's top pick Myles Garrett, while Nelson could have helped to offset the loss of ironman Joe Thomas, who retired in the offseason. Instead Dorsey drafted cornerback Denzel Ward, who some pundits had pitched as a second-rounder.

No draft, especially a single round, can be judged for five or so years but it certainly looks on paper that, even with a new general manager in the draft room, it’s the same old Browns.

That said, on a night when a record four QBs went in the first 10 picks, Cleveland weren’t the only team making head-scratching moves.

San Francisco, having just given left tackle Joe Staley a contract extension and payrise, picked tackle Mike McGlinchey of Notre Dame at 9th – a reach for a player who wasn’t the clear-cut best player at his position. Twelve picks later, after Detroit had taken top center on offer Frank Ragnow, Cincinnati panicked and took the next best, despite the fact he likely would have still been around late second or even the third round.

But the real shocker was Seattle’s making Rashaad Penny of San Diego State the second running back taken with the 27th pick – most experts’ fifth-ranked rusher, sending armchair fans scurrying to Google to see who he was.

Making more predictable moves were the NY Giants, who doubled down on Eli Manning by grabbing Barkley second overall to carry the load, leap tall buildings in a single bound and help keep the 37-year-old passer healthy. The choice will instantly excite the Big Apple fan base at the prospect of teaming the rookie with Odell Beckham Jr and upcoming tight end Evan Engram.

The green half of New York must have been doing cartwheels when the top QB on their board fell to them at No3. On St Patrick's Day they paid a heavy price – trading three second round picks and their No6 to Indianapolis to move up to third, safe in the knowledge that one of the three top-rated passers had to be there. When Cleveland opted for Mayfield, the Jets added Darnold to a list of first-round quarterbacks that includes Joe Namath (1965), Ken O’Brien in 1983 and Mark Sanchez (also out of USC) nine years ago. The 6ft 3in 220-pounder swapped the bright lights of LA for the glare of Gotham and was understandably pleased.

“I couldn’t be happier. I’m just happy to be in the NFL,” he said. “A lot of wins. That’s what I think I can bring to a franchise. I’m ready to go to work.”

Head coach Todd Bowles was also looking forward to working with the rookie, who’ll have the slight luxury of veteran Josh McCown in front of him on the depth chart.

“Once we get him in here, there’s no timetable,” said the fourth-year head coach. “We’ll see how fast he learns and grasps everything. We’re not going to throw him in there, but at the same time, we’re not going to hold him back either.”

With Darnold off the board, Buffalo made an aggressive move to get the seventh pick, sending Tampa Bay their 12th, 53rd and 56th selections, so that they could grab their QB of the future, Josh Allen. That after Allen spent the day answering questions about offensive tweets he posted four or five years ago.

That meant the other top-four passer, Josh Rosen, was still available which proved irresistible to Arizona, who traded up with Oakland to 10th to pick the UCLA player, who may be the most ready to play of all the prospects in the draft.

Once his name was called, the new Cardinal was in no mood to contradict those who question his prickly personality.

“Nine mistakes were made ahead of me," he said after Arizona chose him. "And I will make sure over the next decade or so that they will know that they made a mistake.”

With only fragile Sam Bradford and career back-up Mike Glennon in front of him, Rosen may get the opportunity to start his revenge tour sooner rather than later.

Also sliding into good situations were safety Derwin James, who gets to work with San Diego’s defensive coordinator Gus Bradley, who helped make Seattle’s Earl Thomas a star and receiver Calvin Ridley to Atlanta, where he’ll probably never see double coverage, opposite one of the league’s best in Julio Jones.

Ravens GM Ozzie Newsome is in charge of his final draft in Baltimore (he’ll step down after the 2018 season) and did what Ozzie Newsome does. First he moved back from 16 to 22, picking up an extra two selections, then moved back again to 25, where he grabbed tight end Hayden Hurst from South Carolina. Then, just as everyone was packing up, he pulled the old switcheroo with Philadelphia and jumped back in to draft the game-changing Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson with the final pick of the first round. Jackson will learn behind Joe Flacco in Baltimore before taking over from him eventually.

With talent like corner Josh Jackson, rusher Derrius Guice and guard Will Hernandez still on the board, tonight’s second round is likely to be just as fascinating. Cleveland have the first and third picks in the round – what could possibly go wrong?

Catch Round 2 at NFL.com or from 11pm on Sky Sports Arena & Mix 

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