It was all by design thanks to Cleveland Browns general manager John Dorsey.
Sure, in the hours leading up to the draft the buzz that Baker Mayfield would be the pick grew, but Dorsey kept the news as quiet as possible and he explained why Tuesday morning in an interview with Ken Carman and Anthony Lima on 92.3 The Fan.
“I can play cards with the best of them,” Dorsey said.
“It was too important of a decision, and I know it was the best decision for the organization. I only care about 1 thing: all I want to do is get this thing turned around and this one was too close. I didn’t want anybody to leak it out.”
Mayfield was indeed the pick, which was a bit of a surprise to those who thought Dorsey would go a safter route, like USC's Sam Darnold or UCLA's Josh Rosen. DOrsey explained how Mayfield separated himself.
“I love his accuracy downfield, his quickness of delivery, the feet to extend the play,” Dorsey said. “He does have a strong arm to drive it through that window because we all know the windows in the NFL get tighter. What I liked about him is how his teammates kind of gravitate around him and he finds ways to win the game of football. At the end of the day, it’s all about winning football games in the National Football League.”
While questions about Mayfield's 6-0 5/8 height and the impact it could have on his ability to see downfield in the NFL persist, Dorsey explained to Carman and Lima why he's not as concerend about it as the media or fans are.
“The one thing that Baker does that people don’t realize, he gets so quick back into his drop he can continually see downfield, so that allows him to really be 6-3," Dorsey said. "If you use the statistic of like balls batted down at the line of scrimmage, of all these quarterbacks, he had the least amount of balls batted down at the line of scrimmage, and that’s important, too. If people are going to make judgments on his height, I want to see the batted balls at the line of scrimmage.”
Dorsey already bought himself time and flexibility to not rush Mayfield onto the field by acquiring Tyrod Taylor March 14 from Buffalo.
“This is a marathon, not a sprint,” Dorsey said. “You want what’s in the best interest of this young man. We have a playoff-caliber quarterback that we traded for, so if I’m Baker Mayfield, I’m going to compete out there, but also for his long-term benefit, [he needs time to] understand the nuances of playing professional football because it’s hard and it’s quick and it’s fast.
“The greatest success you always see at this position is if you’re patient and you allow them to grow a little bit, and then you let them take over the reins. That’s the best that these kids can succeed with. So I say let’s have a little bit of patience here with Baker’s growth.”
Dorsey also revealed for the first time his top 2 players at No. 4 on his draft board.
“I had Chubb and I had Ward right about the same level,” Dorsey said.
The selection of Ward surprised many because Chubb was so highly regarded, but with the players ranked evenly internally following their scouting and evaluations, Dorsey went with need.
“We felt that we needed to upgrade in the secondary,” Dorsey said. “I think we’ve totally upgraded the secondary there with unrestricted free agent acquisitions and trades, and then we attacked it also in the draft.”
After spending the first overall pick in 2017 on Myles Garrett and the No. 32 pick in 2016 on Emmanuel Ogbah, filling the cover corner position in the secondary became a priority over adding a third pass rusher for Dorsey and the Browns.
“He’s got the physical features that you look for in a shutdown corner,” Dorsey said. “He’s got the long, vertical speed. He’s got sudden-area explosive quickness that you like in those types of players. He’s got great ball skills. His ceiling of growth, I see it as really high. You know when you get players from Ohio State University, you know you’re going to get guys that really like to play the game.”
Callaway tested positive for marijuana at the NFL Combine in addition to a slew of previous legal trouble. But Dorsey believes in second chances, especially for those who don’t run from their past transgressions.
“He just sat and told us the truth,” Dorsey said. “I respect a man who just sits and tells the truth. My faith has always told me every man is allowed a second chance.”
Callaway was suspended from spring practice in 2016 due to a sexual assault investigation that he was cleared from following a Title IX probe, a no contest plea in July 2017 for possession of drug paraphernalia and being suspended last season for using stolen credit card information to make bookstore purchases.
But Dorsey feels the reward is worth the risk and that in Cleveland they’ll be able to help him get – and keep – his life on track.
“We do as thorough a job of our research and background checks as there is in the National Football League,” Dorsey said. “We actually sent people down to the state of Florida We brought the young man in for a visit. We had a chance to sit down with him, not only in the all-day session here in Berea but we also met with him at the Combine as well.
“Once you begin to understand his person, his situation, once you understand the support mechanisms that you have in place to help young men grow – I’ve always had this personal mantra that not only do I want them to leave as better football players but as better men. We’re going to give him all the support we can.”
“I think you start him out at the left tackle position and see what’s best for him,” Dorsey said. “You’re going to put the best five players out there, so let’s see what’s best.”
The selection of Corbett, who started 49 games at left tackle for Nevada, raised a few eyebrows Friday night.
“We are going to love Austin Corbett,” Dorsey said. “I just love the way he plays the game of football.
Dorsey and the Browns also like Corbett’s versatility and view the pick as a long-term selection and not a fill an immediate need. Corbett played guard at the Senior Bowl and the team also feels that he could play center if needed to.
“I’ve had a chance to sit and assess everything here since I’ve gotten here back in December,” Dorsey said, “and then you know that thing will take care of itself here in the next week or so.”
And Dorsey knows it.
“You can never really evaluate a draft until after 3 years,” Dorsey said.