Cleveland Browns: Friend of John Dorsey Predicts Top Picks
By Erik Lambert
The Cleveland Browns are in complete control of what happens during the 2018 draft thanks to their possession of two top 5 picks.
This has to be a strange position for new GM John Dorsey. Most of the time he spent running the Kansas City Chiefs front office since 2013 he had to make do with mostly late 1st round picks. Only his first year did he draft that high, taking tackle Eric Fisher with the #1 overall pick. This has led to speculation on what he might do this time around. Everybody has offered an opinion on the subject. Most believe he’ll take a quarterback at #1, after that though it gets tricky.
There seem to be two schools of thought. Some believe the Browns will stay put and just make a pick of the best non-QB player available. Others think it’s the perfect opportunity for them to trade down and acquire even more high draft choices. The debate has raged for weeks upon weeks. The Browns, of course, have fed into both scenarios with their evasive answers on the subject. They aren’t going to betray any information on what they have planned.
This doesn’t mean though it’s impossible to predict what they’ll do.
Peter King asks a friend of John Dorsey what Browns will do
Sports Illustrated columnist Peter King is also curious on this subject. Rather than try to make his own prediction, he got in touch with somebody who is a known colleague and friend of Dorsey to see what they think he might do. The answer that came back wasn’t all that surprising, but it was eye-opening.
"“FOD (Friend of Dorsey) thinks Browns will go Allen-Saquon at 1 and 4. What would an April MMQB be without another draft rumor?! This friend of Cleveland GM John Dorsey believes he’ll go Wyoming quarterback Josh Allen over Sam Darnold with the first overall pick, keep the fourth pick, and take Penn State running back Saquon Barkley. “I would be surprised if he traded down,” FOD told me. “This would be his chance to take his two offensive cornerstones for the next eight or 10 years.”"
Next: 2018 NFL Mock Draft: One Quarterback Takes The Plunge
It’s not the most creative plan in the world but it’s certainly one that holds a lot of merits. Not only do the Browns get their QB of the future, they also get him a workhorse running back who can make his early NFL life easier. It’s a good plan that has worked many times in the past. The Browns already added to the wide receiver position with Jarvis Landry. Securing Barkley could be the final piece to the puzzle. The more one considers it, the more believable this becomes.