Sam Darnold still wants to go No. 1 overall, but mostly, the USC quarterback wants to go to the team that most wants him.
“I think going back to Pop Warner, high school, college, everyone wants to be No. 1,” Darnold said at a pre-draft press conference outside AT&T Stadium on Wednesday. “There’s always that competitor in you, but if I’m not picked No. 1, it’s the right thing because they didn’t want me in the first place. That’s the cool thing about the draft.”
Darnold was the popular pick for the No. 1 pick on mock drafts before a report that the Browns “have cooled” on him and instead have narrowed their choice to Josh Allen or Baker Mayfield.
The uncertainty at the top has created what Darnold referred to several times as a “crazy” draft.
“It seems a little more crazy to me because I’m in it,” Darnold said. “I have no idea [what’s going to happen]. There are a bunch of reports out there saying a lot of things. Whatever team I get drafted to, I’m going to be happy to be a part of that organization. I can’t wait to be a part of it.”
Darnold previously has said he wanted to go to Cleveland.
“The Browns, they’re an awesome organization,” Darnold said. “They’re doing a lot of good things. I would say a lot of the teams toward the top of the draft are doing great things. They have the ability to win in the next few years, next couple of years actually. Wherever I go, wherever I land, I know it’s the right spot for me, and that I’ll have the potential to do some special things there.”