NFL Draft 2018: Baker Mayfield in the mix to be first overall pick by Browns
The Cleveland Browns are owners of the top pick in the 2018 NFL Draft after going winless and are actively considering taking Baker Mayfield.
The Cleveland Browns need a quarterback. The Browns hold the top pick in the 2018 NFL Draft they could decide to spend on a quarterback. This year’s class offers a few tantalizing options, including Josh Rosen, Sam Darnold, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson and reigning Heisman Trophy winner, Baker Mayfield.
Mayfield and Allen just finished a week at the Senior Bowl where both had standout weeks at practice and/or the game on Saturday, but according to Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports, it’s Mayfield who is squarely in the mix to be the first overall pick of the 2018 NFL Draft.
Robinson cites new general manager John Dorsey as having a fondness for Mayfield’s mentality and the accuracy and mobility necessary to be a franchise quarterback, something Cleveland hasn’t had in decades when Bernie Kosar was under center.
Mayfield is coming off a season at Oklahoma that saw him win the Heisman Trophy and lead Oklahoma to a Big 12 title and a berth in the Rose Bowl against Georgia in the College Football Playoff. A three-time Heisman finalist, Mayfield certainly had the college production, but his biggest area of concern for NFL teams is his height. Mayfield measured at 6-feet so his physical limitations could end up being the reason the Browns elect to go with a more physically-imposing quarterback like Rosen, Darnold or Allen.
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ESPN’s Mel Kiper has Allen mocked to the Browns in his first mock draft but Robinson believes the Browns will be deciding between Darnold and Mayfield for the top pick. While the Browns still have plenty of homework left to do on the top prospects in the NFL Draft, including at next month’s NFL Combine, the top of the draft is fairly certain to see a quarterback go first overall to Cleveland.
And if it’s Mayfield that goes first overall to the Browns, they’ll have a player who is as competitive as any in recent memory and would provide a face to the franchise, somethign the Browns desperately need.