Browns land Darnold, Chubb, in mock draft 1.0

The Browns have been on the clock since Dec. 24, when they lost to the Bears to clinch the first pick in the draft. Now the moment of decision for John Dorsey is drawing near.

Dorsey’s first pick on April 26 will define his tenure as Browns general manager and chart the course the team takes for the next five years — more than that if it is a quarterback and finally the right one.

In our first mock draft of 2018, we have the Browns taking Sam Darnold of USC with the first pick and defensive end Bradley Chubb of North Carolina State fourth.

The Browns own the first pick for going 0-16 in 2017.

The fourth pick is theirs because they acquired Houston’s 2018 first-round pick in a draft day trade last year.

Quarterback Josh Allen of Wyoming might ultimately be better than Darnold.

But Allen’s 56.2 completion percentage is too big a red flag for Dorsey and Browns coach Hue Jackson to ignore.

Darnold reportedly is the only quarterback the Giants would take in the first round, so with him already being selected by the Browns, our mock draft has the Giants choosing Penn State running back Saquon Barkley.

If the Browns are sold on Barkley, they could take Allen first, leave Darnold for the Giants, and that would give them a choice between Barkley and Chubb with the fourth pick, assuming the Jets take a quarterback third.

Or they could swap picks with the Giants, still get Allen and either Barkley or Chubb and get another draft pick from the Giants.

1. BROWNS » QB Sam Darnold, USC: Darnold’s turnovers will be easier to fix than Josh Allen’s poor completion percentage.

2. GIANTS » RB Saquon Barkley, Penn State: The Giants will snatch up Darnold if the Browns pick Allen

first.

3. JETS » QB Josh Rosen, UCLA: Rosen will benefit from having Josh McCown as a mentor.

4. BROWNS » DE Bradley Chubb, N.C. State: No one would complain if this ends up being Barkley.

5. BRONCOS » QB Josh Allen, Wyoming: Having general manager John Elway as a teacher is a good way to begin a career.

6. COLTS » OG Quentin Nelson, Notre Dame: The Colts won’t go anywhere until they get Andrew Luck some protection.

7. BUCCANEERS » CB Denzel Ward, Ohio State: The Tampa Bay secondary was awful last year. Ward will help more than Minkah Fitzpatrick.

8. BEARS » LB Tremaine Edwards, Virginia Tech: Quarterback Mitchell Trubisky needs protection, but Edwards can be a game-changing linebacker.

9. 49ERS » DB Minkah Fitzpatrick, Alabama: The 49ers defense ranked 28th in yards per pass play last season.

10. RAIDERS » ILB Roquan Smith: Raiders coach Jon Gruden likes aggressive linebackers who can play all three downs.

11. DOLPHINS » SS Derwin Jones, Florida State: The Dolphins allowed 26 touchdown passes last season and were sloppy tacklers.

12. BILLS » QB Lamar Jackson, Louisville: The Bills get a better version of Tyrod Taylor for less money.

13. REDSKINS » NT Vita Vea, Washington: The Redskins have to hope he is more impactful than

the last first-round nose tackle Washington produced. That would be Browns 2015 first-round pick Danny Shelton.

14. PACKERS » DE Marcus Davenport, UT San Antonio: The Packers need playmakers on defense, and Clay Matthews III is in his 10th season.

15. CARDINALS » QB Baker Mayfield, Oklahoma: The Cardinals will be thrilled if they don’t have to trade up for their next quarterback.

16. RAVENS » WR Calvin Ridley, Alabama: Ozzie Newsome gets the best wide receiver in the draft in his last year as Ravens general manager.

17. CHARGERS » NT Da’Ron Payne, Alabama: The Chargers allowed an average of 4.9 yards a carry last year and need to plug up the middle.

18. SEAHAWKS » OT Mike McGlinchey, Notre Dame: It isn’t a great year for offensive tackles, but the Seahawks are happy to get the best of 2018.

19. COWBOYS » WR D.J. Moore, Maryland: The Cowboys grab another weapon for Dak Prescott.

20. LIONS » RB Derrius Guice, LSU: Guice has drawn comparisons to Marshawn Lynch.

21. BENGALS » OT Connor Williams, Texas: The Bengals won’t get back to the playoffs until they fix their offensive line.

22. BILLS » OL Isaiah Wynn, Georgia: Wynn is a guard first, but he can also play tackle.

23. RAMS » LB Rashaan Evans, Alabama: The Rams were 30th against the run

last season. Evans will change that.

24. PANTHERS » OT Orlando Brown, Jr.: Brown is a first-round talent who had a disappointing Scouting Combine.

25. TITANS » DE Harold Landry, Boston College: Landry can be disruptive and might not last this long.

26. FALCONS » DT Maurice Hearst Michigan: Quarterback Matt Ryan’s numbers fell last year, but fixing the defensive line is a priority.

27. SAINTS » TE Hayden Hurst, South Carolina: It won’t take long for Drew Brees to make Hurst a major part of the Saints offense.

28. STEELERS » ILB Leighton Vander Esch, Boise State: Ryan Shazier won’t play for the Steelers in 2018 (spine injury) and might not play again.

29. JAGUARS » WR Courtland Sutton, SMU: The Jaguars could go for quarterback Mason Rudolph, but they are in a win-now mode.

30. VIKINGS » OT Kolton Miller, UCLA: After signing quarterback Kirk Cousins in free agency, the Vikings have to keep him vertical.

31. PATRIOTS » CB Jaire Alexander, Louisville: The Super Bowl proved the Patriots need a better secondary.

32. EAGLES » TE Mike Gesicki, Penn State: The Eagles quarterbacks can spread the ball around.