At a time when everyone thinks that the Browns have whittled their choices at No. 1 to quarterback Josh Allen and quarterback Sam Darnold, maybe they haven’t.
On Monday, Dan Patrick said he’s hearing that the Browns actually are choosing between Allen and quarterback Baker Mayfield.
On Tuesday, Adam Schefter of ESPN tweeted this: "[O]ne NFL executive said this morning that Baker Mayfield is ‘definitely’ in Cleveland’s conversation to become the No. 1 overall pick.”
It’s impossible to disprove that representation, and it’s impossible to specifically know without more details why an “NFL executive” (presumably, an executive with another team) believes that the Browns are talking about possibly taking Mayfield.
But it’s not a surprise. Given the affinity owner Jimmy Haslam had four years ago for Johnny Manziel, Haslam quite possibly is enamored with the idea of getting Mayfield. Which would indeed put Mayfield in the conversation.
The fact that there’s no clear separation at the top of the draft enhances the possibility of the Browns at least discussing other options. It also keeps the possibility of a trade in play for the Browns, especially if they’d only drop by a couple of spots, perhaps to No. 3 with the Jets.