Browns add Garrett, N.J. native Peppers

PHILADELPHIA — With the first pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, the Browns selected the safest pick on the board: Myles Garrett, the Texas A&Mpass-rushing fiend.

The 6-foot-4, 272-pound defensive end had been atop virtually every mock draft as the consensus No. 1 overall pick for months — though there was late speculation that Cleveland might reach for North Carolina quarterback Mitchell Trubisky the No. 1 pick.

But Cleveland went defense instead of addressing its Black Hole quarterbacking situation.

“We’re not going to force it,’’ Browns coach Hue Jackson told the NFL Network. “We do recognize that we need a quarterback, but we’re not going to chase it. We’re kind of going to let it come to us.’’

Jackson and the Browns were true to his word, as the Browns traded out of the No. 12 spot to accumulate more picks and opted not to reach for a quarterback and later took North Jersey native Jabrill Peppers out of Michigan with the 25th overall pick.

Garrett, who did not attend the draft in Philadelphia, instead watching with family and friends in Arlington, Texas, called the news of his new home “really just a weight off of my shoulders to finally just get the announce- ment that what I have been working for.’’

“Big things are coming,” Garrett said. “They picked me because they think they see something in me, and they know that I can help them rebuild and turn this program around.’’

Gareon Conley, the former Ohio State cornerback who was accused of rape this week, was picked 24th overall by the Raiders. Prior to the draft, he was projected as a top-10 selection.

Conley’s status was central storyline of the draft after a 23-year-old woman reported he sexually assaulted her at a Cleveland hotel on April 9. He has not been arrested or charged. He has agreed to meet with detectives Monday, and also will submit his DNA, his attorney Kevin Spellacy said.

Christian McCaffrey, one of the most dynamic players in the draft, was picked No. 8 by the Panthers, who will pair him in the backfield with quarterback Cam Newton.

McCaffrey, the son of former Giants and Broncos receiver Ed McCaffrey, was the second running back taken in the top 10 after LSU’s Leonard Fournette, who went No. 4 to the Jaguars.