NFL: Browns Draft Mayfield & Ward
1. Baker Mayfield (Cleveland Browns QB): Mayfield was one of the best quarterbacks in the country for the last three seasons, and in two of those years, he led his Oklahoma Sooners team to the College Football Playoff. He was the 2017 Heisman Trophy winner, capping off a miraculous season. Now that he's going to the Cleveland Browns, Mayfield will be tasked with taking off the QB spot for a team that just went 0-16. It's not going to be easy, but he'll get to learn a little bit from Tyrod Taylor, who took the Buffalo Bills to the playoffs.
2. Saquon Barkley (New York Giants RB): Barkley had a great career at Penn State, and was a sure pick for the Giants at the No. 2 spot. He was clearly going to be drafted by New York if he wasn't by Cleveland. The Giants have a QB: Eli Manning. Plus, one of the best wide receivers in the league: Odell Beckham Jr. Manning doesn't have many more years left in the tank, so they're going to have to improve greatly this season. Barkley is going to see a lot of carries and should be one of the favorites to win Offensive Rookie of the Year.
3. Sam Darnold (New York Jets QB): Darnold was once considered to be the No. 1 pick, as recent as a month ago, but then Mayfield rose during draft week, and Darnold slipped to the third slot. But that might be a better scenario for the former-USC product. He won't have to deal with the struggle that is the Browns organization. Yes, the Jets are unorganized as well, but they seem closer. Darnold likely won't start the season with Teddy Bridgewater on the roster, but the two create a better QB situation than last year.
4. Denzel Ward (Cleveland Browns DB): Most people anticipated the Browns would take a quarterback with their first pick and then a defensive player with their fourth. But we thought it'd be Bradley Chubb. The Browns went another direction, though, and selected Ward, who was considered to be one of the top DB prospects. Ward is out of Ohio State and will get to stay close to home. He'll be added to a wide open secondary, and should get a lot of playing time in his first year, hoping to help improve the Browns' porous defense.
5. Bradley Chubb (Denver Broncos DE): Chubb slipped one extra spot than we had him, but it's certainly a better position for him to be in. The Broncos shouldn't be that far away from reaching the playoffs, and after a hot start last year, it was their poor QB play that was the demise of their team. But now they have Case Keenum coming in. The offense should be better this upcoming season. And the defense was already pretty solid. Chubb will be apart of that. The thought of a line with Chubb and Von Miller is downright scary.
Photo Credit: Sporting News.
