2018 NFL Mock Draft: Complete first round entering NFL Combine
player. Pick Analysis. USC. 4. Quarterback. Sam Darnold. 53. Scouting Report
Darnold finally gets his name called at pick No. 4, and the team he likely does not want to go to. Cleveland seems to be the place where quarterback careers come to an end, but something could be different here with a better draft and development strategy.
Since just one good pool of talent from a single draft is not going to single-handedly turn around Cleveland’s franchise fortunes, this is the time to build in the right direction. Too long have the Browns shifted strategies for franchise development, and made changes in the front office.
The quarterback with the highest ceiling in this draft, at least in terms of pocket passers, is Darnold. There are some other doubts surrounding the path of his NFL career, but he should still easily fall in the top five.
The Browns figured out that DeShone Kizer is not their quarterback of the future, as few others at his position struggled with as many turnovers as he did. Kizer had more interceptions tossed in the red zone than any other quarterback in 2017.