The first round of the 2018 NFL Draft wrapped up on Thursday night and treated us with some major surprises. For that, we have to thank Cleveland Browns, who had the first and fourth overall pick.
With the first overall pick, Browns indeed took a quarterback, but not USC’s Sam Darnold like everyone thought. Instead, they went with a more polarizing figure in Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield. Entering the draft, Mayfield was considered only the fourth best QB in this draft class, behind Darnold, UCLA’s Josh Rosen and Wyoming’s Josh Allen. Still, the Browns general manager John Dorsey decided to bet on Mayfield’s upside that could be huge if he can overcome his off the field behavior and the fact that he is undersized for a quarterback position.
“This is a guy who has earned everything he has,” – said Dorsey said. “He knows how to play and knows how to win.”
“He was the best college quarterback this year, by far, in our opinion,” – added Browns’ coach Hue Jackson.
Baker Mayfield, the Heisman Trophy winner in 2017, ended his senior season at Oklahoma completing 262 passes out of 369, which counted for 4,340 passing yards and 41 touchdowns.
After the Browns, New York Giants were on the clock selecting Penn State’s running back Saquon Barkley with the second overall pick, while their cross-town rivals, New York Jets, selected Sam Darnold with the third overall pick.
Once again the Cleveland Browns were on the clock, and once again they delivered a surprise in the 2018 NFL Draft by passing on NC State’s defensive end Bradley Chubb, who was considered to be the best player in the draft. Instead, they went on and selected cornerback Denzel Ward. Unlike the Browns, Denver Broncos didn’t think too much and drafted Chubb fifth overall.
