Cleveland Browns: 4 players the Browns must draft in 2018
1. Sam Darnold, USC, QB
Here’s the thing with Sam Darnold. He’s young. He can’t legally buy a drink until a month after the draft ends.
Patience is going to be key with Darnold, which is why the franchise needs to find a
Imagine if Darnold had decided to stay in school for another year. He’d be the post boy for the 2018 college football season and would enter 2019 mocks as the clear cut No. 1 pick.
It’s true that he didn’t quite live up to expectations in 2017, but there’s enough there for the Browns to take him. His size and arm are what’d you want from an AFC North quarterback.
He’ll have to work on accuracy, but that’s OK. Remember, we’re talking about a 20-year-old third-year sophomore. Darnold’s accuracy slipped from 67 percent to 63 percent in 2017, and turnovers were a big problem. He threw 13 interceptions and coughed up nine fumbles.
Perhaps he was overcompensating for a USC team that wasn’t thought to be as a talented as it was during Darnold’s breakout 2016 campaign.
Darold’s Pac-12 counterpart, Josh Rosen, appears to be the prettier passer right now, but he’s not the athlete Darnold is. Rosen completed 62.5 percent of his passes after completing 59.3 percent of his throws as a sophomore.
Wyoming’s Josh Allen completed 56.3 percent of his throws, compared to 56 percent in 2016.
Baker Mayfield accuracy is intriguing with the Heisman winner completing over 70 percent of his passes the past two years.
DeShone Kizer completed 60 percent of this passes at Notre Dame, but in his rookie campaign, that number dipped to 53.7 percent.
Accuracy matters, so that eliminates Allen, and it also makes you wonder about Rosen.
At least Rosen touched 67 percent, although it was a year. As Browns fans saw from Kizer this season, you’ve got to give your receivers a chance to catch the ball. Yes, Kizer was hurt by drops, but inaccurate throws were obvious as well.
As for Mayfield, you’ve got to call into question the defenses he faced in the Big-12. Defense is a rumor in that league, and when you factor in his height (listed at 6-1), you’ve got to wonder about his durability.
Some try to make the Johnny Manziel comparison with Mayfield, but I don’t like it. I won’t. Instead, I’ll use another crazy accurate passer Browns fans know well: Colt McCoy.
The 6-1 McCoy completed 70.3 percent of his throws at Texas. Granted, Mayfield’s arm is better, but they were bough roughly the same size, and Clevelanders know what happened when James Harrison put that infamous lick on McCoy during the 2012 season.
With Darnold, the Browns would have a potential franchise quarterback in place, but it’s imperative the USC product sit.
That means finding a Golden Gate Bridge size quarterback is a necessity. GM John Dorsey shouldn’t think about signing a guy to get Cleveland through one year, rather, he should be comfortable with Darnold stewing for two years with the clipboard.
Remember, Dorsey came from the Green Bay Packers and was a part of the organization when they drafted Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers sat behind Brett Favre for four seasons.
It’s crazy to think about in today’s world of instant gratification, but with Favre, the Packers were winning. Forcing Rodgers into action was never an issue.
With the right bridge quarterback, and a durable DeShone Kizer to serve as the backup, the Browns might finally be able to bring a quarterback along the right way.