Browns can see what they passed up

Sam Darnold once thought he’d be wearing an orange helmet just a few shades brighter than his hair color.

But the former USC star wasn’t precisely what the Browns were looking for in a franchise quarterback in the NFL draft. Darnold checked most of the boxes, but not all of them, and Cleveland passed on him with the No. 1 overall pick, selecting Baker Mayfield instead.

Tonight, Darnold can show the Browns they made a mistake.

Another one.

The youngest quarterback to start a season opener since 1970, Darnold will perform on a national TV stage for the second time already as a pro when he leads the New York Jets into FirstEnergy Stadium to face the Browns, who have played well enough to win their first two games but are still searching for their first victory since Dec. 24, 2016.

Heading into April’s draft, Darnold was considered the top of the deep 2018 QB class and it appeared he would wind up in Cleveland, where quarterbacks have come and gone like restaurant busboys over the past two decades.

“Yeah, I thought I could’ve ended up there or several other teams,” Darnold said this week. “I was excited to go anywhere. “Whoever wanted me, whoever wanted to pick me as a top pick, to me it was a dream come true right when it happened.”

After the Browns nabbed Mayfield and the Giants grabbed running back Saquon Barkley, the Jets took Darnold and have been more than satisfied by his early development.

He rebounded from throwing an interception that was returned for a TD on his first pass attempt in the opener and led the Jets to a 31-point win, and last week the 21-year-old became the youngest QB to pass for 300 yards.

The Jets and Browns are on divergent paths with their rookie quarterbacks. New York has chosen to start Darnold, while Cleveland is holding Mayfield out to watch and learn behind Tyrod Taylor.

Buccaneers: A female Uber driver in Arizona is suing quarterback Jameis Winston, accusing him of sexual assault.

The woman, who is seeking more than $75,000 in damages, said Winston grabbed her in the drivethru of a Mexican restaurant in the Phoenix area in March 2016.

After an investigation into the incident, the NFL in June suspended Winston for three games for violating the league’s personal conduct policy.

Bills: Running back LeSean McCoy is defending himself against allegations that he abused his 6-year-old son. He is calling the allegations “ridiculous” and says they’re being made by people with something to gain.

McCoy spoke after practice Wednesday, a day after being called “a monster” by his son’s mother in a court.

Eagles: Philadelphia signed wide receiver Jordan Matthews and placed Mike Wallace on injured reserve.

Matthews played his first three seasons with the Eagles before he was traded to Buffalo in August 2017.