Berea, OH (92.3 The Fan) – With his customary light grey Cleveland Browns sweatshirt draped over his dress shirt, general manager John Dorsey fielded questions about the upcoming NFL Draft Thursday morning, and he didn’t reveal much.
His poker face was strong.
Holding the equivalent of a royal flush entering the draft, Dorsey didn’t tip his hand one bit in a 25-minute press conference with reporters about the team’s plans for next Thursday night.
“I’m going to consider all options,” Dorsey said. “I’m going to try to do what’s best for this organization. I still have 7 days before the draft. I still have to go through some of the processes.”
It is expected that Dorsey will pick between USC quarterback Sam Darnold, UCLA’s Josh Rosen, Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield or Wyoming’s Josh Allen with the first selection, but which QB it will be remains anyone’s guess.
“The only thing I really care about is do guys win?” Dorsey said. “Does he have accuracy? Does he have a strong arm? Can he throw the ball in the red zone in tight windows? Can he drive the ball? At the end of the game, does he win? That’s what I look for.”
Making a trade at 1 or 4 is also not out of the question.
“My phone is still on, the power is still on,” Dorsey said. “We’re going to do what’s best for this organization regardless. Let’s say if we did trade out, then you have to weigh the value of that player versus the trade, so you have to weigh those 2 options.”
So how much has his board changed since the NFL Combine in March?
“I’m not going to put a number on it,” Dorsey said. “But, there’s been some adjustments to that board. I’m not going to put a number on it, how much it’s changed but adjustments have been made. That’s only logical.”
There seems to be no definitive direction that Dorsey is leaning based on his remarks Thursday, but he is working with those within the building to come to a final decision including with head coach Hue Jackson.
“Hue and I, we talk about an unbelievable amount of things four or five times a day,” Dorsey said. “Ownership and I talk two or three times a day. The lines of communication in this building are as good as we’ve had, so I’m very happy where we are right now.”
Dorsey had the top pick with the Chiefs in 2013 but there’s a big difference for him this year.
“There’s probably more quarterbacks in this draft, seriously,” Dorsey said. “Realistically, you could say there may be 5 quarterbacks taken in the first round or there may be 4 [taken].”
While he didn’t say much Thursday morning, there’s a good bet that Dorsey has an ace up his sleeve, somewhere.
