Mayfield goes No. 1 in top-10 rush for QBs
Browns decide on OU star because ‘he is a winner’
ARLINGTON — Quarterback desperation means NFL teams can’t pass on taking a passer — even a flawed one — in the draft.
The Browns, Jets, Bills and Cardinals heeded that notion Thursday night, even as more highly rated players at other positions remained on the board.
Heisman Trophy winner Baker Mayfield became Cleveland’s latest attempt to find its franchise quarterback. Sam Darnold of Southern Cal is trying to revive the Jets, while in upstate New York — where the Bills gave up on Tyrod Taylor — the future belongs to Wyoming’s Josh Allen. Just after Buffalo traded up to grab Allen, Arizona moved up to get UCLA’s Josh Rosen, a potential replacement for the retired Carson Palmer.
Four quarterbacks in the first 10 selections. Never mind that the best players were considered Penn State running back Saquon Barkley (second overall to the Giants) and North Carolina State defensive end Bradley Chubb (fifth to Denver). The last pick of the first round was a fifth QB: 2016 Heisman winner Lamar Jackson, chosen by Baltimore after a trade with Philadelphia.
In today’s NFL, it’s all about the QBs. Even though none of these is considered a sure success.
“They all had something, a knock on (them),” Bills general manager Brandon Beane said. “We just think (Allen’s) makeup is going to help him work on his flaws. That’ll be part of our job here to accentuate his strengths.”
Same deal in Cleveland, the Meadowlands and the desert.
The Browns’ nearly two-decade search for that quarterback led them to Mayfield. Until the last few days, the Oklahoma product was considered a longshot to be the top pick. He goes from a former walk-on to No. 1 overall. Mayfield is the first Heisman recipient taken first in the following draft since Cam Newton went to Carolina in 2010.
Mayfield, who could sit behind the newly acquired Taylor, joins a team that went 0-16 in 2017.
“I’m going to come in with the mindset to compete and the hunger to learn” from Taylor.
The Browns, who haven’t had a top-flight quarterback since returning to the league in 1999, were sold on his leadership skills and creativity inside the pocket and outside.
“With Baker Mayfield, we have a guy who loves the game of football, who is an ultra-competitor, is revered by his teammates and anybody who has ever been around him,” Browns GM John Dorsey said. “He’s a guy that has earned everything he has ever had since high school to college and now up here. He is a winner, he’s competitive.”
He was not at AT&T Stadium, leaving NFL commissioner Roger Goodell on stage, hearing cheers cascade throughout the building after announcing the Browns’ choice. It was one of the few times Goodell heard cheers.
More booing accompanied the next pick, but not for Goodell: Dallas’ archrival the New York Giants chose Barkley, considered the best talent in this year’s class. It capped quite a few days for Barkley, whose girlfriend gave birth to a baby girl earlier this week.
“I’ve been able to be accepted into the fatherhood and have my first child, my daughter,” he said. “From here on now, I’ve got to do everything to represent her and try to set an example for her, for the good things I do and the mistakes I make in my life that she can learn from.”
Darnold, pegged by many to be the top pick for months, went third to the other New York team. The Jets had traded with Indianapolis, going from sixth to third with the expressed intent to find a passer.
Like Mayfield, Darnold might sit behind a veteran, Josh McCown.
“I think whatever the coaches want me to do, if they want me to sit, want me to play, I’ll do my role,” he said.
Buffalo traded up with Tampa Bay to get Allen at No. 7. Allen is considered the passer with the most upside.
“Well, we’re going to find out in a few years if this class will pan out,” Allen said. “I definitely think it will.”
There were 22 underclassmen selected in the first round, with the Southeastern Conference having 10 players chosen. There were 15 on defense and 17 on offense — with the five QBs matching the 1999 haul.