Would you be happy with the Browns getting both USC quarterback Sam Darnold and Penn State running back Saquon Barkley at the top of the 2018 NFL Draft?
I know I would.
That’s what staffer Albert Breer of sportsillustrated.com, the best group in the business when it comes to getting a read on pro football, had on Wednesday as he unveiled what he called “NFL Mock Draft, Vol. 2: The Pre-Combine, Pre-Free Agency Projection.”
Breer had the Browns taking Darnold with the No. 1 overall pick and then landing Barkley at No. 4.
In between, he predicted that the New York Giants would select Wyoming quarterback Josh Allen at No. 2 and the Indianapolis Colts would grab Bradley Chubb, an edge rusher from North Carolina State. at No. 3.
After Barkley to Cleveland, Breer had the rest of the top 10 shaking out like this:
*No. 5 – Denver Broncos – Josh Rosen, quarterback, UCLA.
*No. 6 – New York Jets – Quenton Nelson, guard, Notre Dame.
*No. 7 – Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Minkah Fitzpatrick, defensive back, Alabama.
*No. 8 – Chicago Bears – Denzel Ward, cornerback, Ohio State.
*No. 9 – San Francisco 49ers – Tremaine Edmunds, linebacker, Virginia Tech.
*No. 10 – Oakland (for now) Raiders – Roquan Smith, linebacker, Georgia.
Breer introduced the piece this way:
“Teams have a pretty good idea of what they think of draft prospects right now—but combine week, starting Tuesday, is a turning point.
“After the combine, they’ll have full medicals to go along with what’s been built up on scouting reports over the last couple of years. After combine, the GMs and head coaches will be able compare their impressions from interviews with the players to what area scouts came back with from campus visits. And after the combine, they’ll have some testing numbers to confirm that fast guys are fast, and strong guys are strong.
“So yes, there will be winners and losers in Indianapolis, but teams are now coming out of draft meetings with early boards set and consensus starting to come together within their building on who should fall where. And it’s with that backdrop that I’m going to give you my second mock of this draft season.
“As always, this isn’t based on any evaluation of mine, it’s based on discussions with decision-makers and evaluators across the NFL—and four months of reporting from having done The NFL Draft Column in the fall. With that background, I put together a mock on Sunday, and vetted it with guys from eight teams. Over that time, I rearranged it three times, and finally came up with this. Enjoy!
Breer had this to say about the Browns picking Darnold and Barkley:
*Darnold – “Drafting a quarterback high has a lot to do with comfort level, and I think John Dorsey will find himself most comfortable with Darnold—despite his funky delivery—because of his off-the-charts intangibles.”
*Barkley – “Barkley is the draft’s best player, but the non-premium position makes him a wild card. I like the idea of pairing him with a rookie quarterback, like Ezekiel Elliott and Dak Prescott two years ago.”
Stay tuned. There’s still a long, long way — over two months, in fact – to go.
