As I've mentioned, drafting a running back that high is an exception to my own rule; I just thought Barkley is that exceptional.
However, as Terry points out, this entire running back class is excellent, and the separation between Barkley and the other guys isn't that great.
Dane Brugler has Barkley rated below where he had Zeke Elliott and Todd Gurley, and wouldn't draft Barkley that high.
Brugler (and Terry) like this Rashaad Penny (Kiper's fifth-ranked running back) a lot in the second round, and I like Darrius Guice. Ask five scouts who they like (besides Barkley--that's unanimous), and you might get three different answers.
Sony Micheal is another guy, but there are about six. At this point, Micheal and Guice are the bigger guys with big play ability who the Browns are more likely to target, but other guys are interesting:
Ronald Jones II is 6'1", 195 lbs., and predictably doesn't break many tackles or block well. But he is explosive and fast. He's a projection in the NFL. You have to know he will gain weight, and that length will make him a more reliable receiver over time.
Royce Freeman is a big, powerful hammer (with some wiggle), but not a big-play threat.
The Browns already have Duke Johnson (and Matt Dayes), and the new running back has to have some size and power.
If they don't grab Barkley, they could hope for Micheal or Guice to slide, and could trade up to nab one of them (both could go in the first round).
Minkah Fitzpatrick and Bradley Chubb both sound pretty awesome, but Fitzpatrick addresses a need, and he will be there.
The Browns may (or may not) need a free safety, but definitely need a cornerback. Gregg Williams also just loves versatile players to confuse and confound offenses with. For him and this defense, Fitz would have an immediate and substantial impact.
I like the way the quarterback talk is going.
Josh Rosen is more advanced (pro-ready) than the other guys, which gives him the edge over Darnold for teams in "win now" mode.
But the panelists and pundits who say you can't mess around (assuming you have one specific quarterback in mind) are correct.
I suspect that the Browns (except for maybe Hue Jackson) like both Darnold and Mayfield, or else just Mayfield. The math here sucks, because the Colts might trade down, and the Giants could do that or draft a quarterback themselves. Even if they're ready to settle for Darnold (just my opinion who knows what Dorsey thinks?), both their quarterbacks could go at two and three.
I play poker. The odds against that here are pretty high, but this is one time you can't take any chances at all. Almost certainly, Dorsey will just draft his quarterback first overall to spare himself a coronary.
But the fourth overall pick could be very much in play for a trade-down.
Barkley and four quarterbacks could go one through five, and by the time the Browns are on the clock at four, they'll be sitting pretty:
Is one (or even two) of the big four quarterbacks left? Whoever trades up to four wants one of them. They can look down at Denver, the Jets, and the Bucs. Elway won't budge: He knows the Browns have their quarterback, and will just draft a quarterback.
The Jets need a quarterback oh! Oh! They want to get ahead of Denver! And Elway knows it! And just to make sure, Dorsey opens a party-line!
Who's still on the board? Fitzpatrick, maybe Barkley, Chubb...
Tampa could draft any of these guys, but it doesn't matter. The Browns could move down one or two slots and extort a king's ransom, and STILL get a superstud!
Mary Kay Cabbott is saying the same things, but sounds smarter now, as she says they'll probably just draft the quarterback first overall, and a running back in the second or third round, especially in this draft.
One guy asked her if the Giants might trade Eli Manning to the Browns for first or fourth, which stunned me. Mary Kay answered that just fine.
Another guy asked what was wrong with Josh McCown as a bridge quarterback. Good point! She answered that one fine too.
Ebineezer Bradford's extortion racket has collapsed, so it now looks like he'll have to take a massive pay cut. I assume he's not going to go out of his way to help a younger quarterback, but when healthy, he is an elite talent who could instantly put the Browns in contention (until his annual season-ending injury).
Teddy Bridgewater is also a possibility.
PFF estimates that somebody will have to pay the legendary AJ McCarron 19 mil/year, and I'd take either of these much cheaper options (or preferably Saint Josh) before McCarron.
I'm not bashing AJ here, but 19 mil, even in this inflated market, is low end starting money, and (thanks to my man Thomas Moore and PFF) I know he's not all that.
Indeed, this could be a disaster: AJ thrived on short passes and dumpoffs. Defensive coordinators have film on that now, and a clear bead on his limitations. They can "squeeze" him now. He could fall on his face, utterly.
All the OTHER quarterbacks I listed have proven they can threaten every part of the field (and yes that includes Bridgewater).
Hue Jackson can pound the table all he wants over McCarron, but this time Jimmy Haslam won't back him up.
It's not just John Dorsey. It's McGloughan and a proven all-star front office, including several former NFL players. When THESE guys tell Jimmy "He's fulla crap this would be idiotic" (like Sashi Brown did), Jimmy will side with them.
...quick review: They tried to trade a second and third round pick late in 2017 for McCarron. Nuff said?
Cousins? Even Joe Thomas is giving that up! (I hope it doesn't mean he's about to retire). How much is too much? How good is he, really?
Certainly, Kirk Cousins is a lot better than any of these draftables in 2018, but what about 2019?
Josh Allen aside, three to five quarterbacks in this draft could match or exceed Cousins in 2019, and every one of them will make chump change by comparison.
That's "analytics", by the way, but Dorsey can do that math too.
I respect the other side of this debate:
Cousins is solid and proven, and with a good supporting cast can win it all, right now. He's 30 and durable, so the Browns could ignore quarterback (maybe trading down and stockpiling even more picks), and still get a Barkley AND a Fitzpatrick etc.
I still disagree:
1: Cousins guarantees that the Browns won't draft this high again for the forseeable future, and gouges 25% out of that cap space everybody is talking about.
2: Cousins is not as good as Big Ben, let alone at least nine other quarterbacks who will make less money than him.
3: Many scouts think the top four quarterbacks in this draft will ALL transcend Cousins in 2019 or 2020. Do the math.
4: A healthy Sam Bradford is better than Cousins. Keenum was better. McCown is comparable. Bridgewater is in his league. ALL of them are lots cheaper.
5: (My own opinion supported by McGloughan, Dorsey, Jim Miller, and several other legit experts) Baker Mayfield does NOT need to collect as many splinters before starting as the Madding crowd thinks.
6: DeShone Kizer 2.0 WILL BE much better than the 1.0 version. The only issue is how much better. Odds are in favor of him being a decent backup, especially with Haley running the offense.
7: Any confident GM looks five years down the road, and wants a DYNASTY. He wants Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Peyton Manning, Wentz (I project), or even Big Ben...not Kirk Cousins.
8: What separates these guys from Cousins is their ability to win even in the worst circumstances, almost regardless of the other 21 players. Cousins is really, really good. But he's not that good.
9: A lot of these pundits think the current Browns are a lot worse than they are, so they think they have a lot more "holes" than they actually do.
That's why they want to just plug Cousins in and draft a whole new team. But they (including Mayock) are wrong. The Browns don't NEED to massively overpay Kirk Cousins so they can draft a "playmaker" instead of a quarterback.
The Browns will find a terrific running back easily in this draft, in any of the top three rounds. They should nail down an elite cornerback in free agency, and generally resolve most of their depth issues (except for left tackle and maybe free safety) even before the draft.
Yes, that includes wide reciever. I disagree with those who don't like Terrelle Pryor. I now know that he struggled with an ankle injury in 2017, and have already itemized his physical limitations. But he did what he did here in 2016, and he'd be a dirt-cheap bargain.
If you have problems with arithmatic, you need not apply for an NFL front office job. Ditto if you "dish" gossip.
"Diva"?! Teammates disliked him? He worships Satan oh puh leez!!!
There are higher profile/more expensive (in case you missed that I said "more expensive", ok? No footnotes here. You can look up "expensive" in your dictionary, and I hope you know what "more" means already).
-Sigh- ok well every business has what's called a "budget", see? And when oh gdammit nevermind okbye
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