Cleveland, OH (92.3 The Fan) – Zero Dark Dorsey is in full effect.
While Browns general manager John Dorsey maintains he is in a self-imposed media blackout, there is no shortage of rumors about what he and the Browns have planned for Thursday night.
Depending who you read or listen to, one thing is clear: nobody other than Dorsey knows definitively what is going to happen when the Browns go on the clock shortly after 8 p.m.
Will it be Sam Darnold of USC, UCLA’s Josh Rosen, Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield or Josh Allen from Wyoming No. 1?
Here’s the latest.
Multiple sources have told 92.3 The Fan’s Dustin Fox that Dorsey has narrowed the choice at 1 between Mayfield and Allen. Fox has also said that the Browns coaching staff – namely Hue Jackson and new offensive coordinator Todd Haley – aren’t all in on Darnold and would not be crazy about such a selection.
The Allen–Mayfield scenario was echoed Monday morning by Dan Patrick on the Dan Patrick Show, citing a league source that told him Dorsey will pick between the 2.
Mayfield’s character and concerns about his maturity in Dorsey’s view is a media creation. At least that’s what he said last week. “Well, you guys always try to create the narrative of this guy of that he’s like something he’s not,” Dorsey said. “We said that back at the Senior Bowl. Just meeting with him, he is a pleasant fella. He is pretty sharp. He is fine. I have no problems with him.” From a pure football standpoint, Mayfield – despite his height, has proven he can play.
Peter King of the MMQB.com still has the Browns selecting Darnold. He remains the ‘safe’ pick that checks the most boxes that Dorsey said last Thursday that he requires – “Does he win? Does he have accuracy? Does he have a strong arm? Can he throw the ball in the red zone and in tight windows? Can he drive the ball? At the end of the game, does he win? That is kind of what I look for.” Check. Check. Check. Check. Check, and check.
While it is thought that the selection at 1 is a 4-man race, it appears to really be a 3-man race. The one QB we’ve heard very little about is Rosen and that doesn’t seem to be an accident either. Dorsey declined last week to shine any light on the narrative that surrounds Rosen about being a rich kid whose love of the game is in question. “I had no problem with him,” Dorsey, who has met with him 3 times, said. “I thought that he was very smart. He is very passionate. He is a broad thinker now. Maybe that is the thing people talk about; he is a broad thinker. He has lots of interests, but it won’t be from lack of he doesn’t like football. He is very competitive in that regard. I’m fine with him. People can talk all they want, but me personally, I’m fine with him. I thought he was a neat kid.”
Another scenario – although a long shot – that could play out Thursday night – Penn State running back Saquon Barkley, NC State defensive end Bradley Chubb and Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson all become Browns. Cleveland’s front office and coaching staff remains intrigued by Jackson, who is not in consideration to be a top-5 pick, but the Browns could potentially move back into the first round to get him if they decide just to go ‘the best player available’ route with picks 1 and 4.
The Giants could do the Browns a huge favor by taking Barkley second. The Jets are all but assured to take a quarterback third and it is believed by many that Mayfield or Rosen will be their desired target leaving Chubb falling into the Browns’ lap at 4.
The noise is loud, the smoke thick, which is the way Dorsey wants it.
Our picks: Darnold at 1, Chubb at 4.
See you Thursday night.
