The Cleveland Browns are the NFL’s model (of ineptitude) franchise, having won just four games over the past three seasons. Making matters worse, they’ve actually been trending downwards, having gone from three wins in 2015 to one win in 2016, before going winless last season.
Now, in possession of the first overall pick in the 2018 Draft, it was time to make a decision. (Cleveland still took it to end of their allotted ten minutes, the dumbest tradition in sports.) The pick?
Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield.
That had been the widespread speculation heading into tonight, after Adam Schefter tweeted the rumors were swirling. Here’s what we wrote about it earlier today:
We’ll find out for sure in 19 hours, but the idea of Mayfield being the top overall pick (and trying to turn around the Cleveland Browns) is certainly a very interesting one. Despite Mayfield’s incredible Heisman season, many evaluators didn’t believe he was even a first-round pick due to not having ideal size for the quarterback position (a trait that continues to show to be overrated), and because of his personality and on-field antics that have drawn criticism (another thing that shouldn’t really matter, but we know how some of these NFL front offices think).
After Mayfield, the Giants selected running back Saquon Barkley from Penn State. We’ll have to see how those first two picks jumpstart the rest of the first round, which could see a run on quarterbacks push some other prospects down the top ten.
