A baker's dozen of draft-related takes hours before the Browns go on the clock with the first pick of the 2018 NFL draft. Advice from a No. 1 pick. Mainstream Mike's vs. Crazy Mike's mocks. A hilarious tweet. John Dorsey's Ozzie Newsome challenge. More
1, In the hours before the draft, the rumor mill narrowed the Browns' decision at No. 1 down to ridiculous, expected or sublime.
In other words, if it's Sam Darnold, that's only because a loose consensus points there, not because anyone has penetrated John Dorsey's force field.
Dorsey appeared Wednesday only long enough to tell a couple of national media types hanging out in Texas that he has told neither his wife nor his head coach who he will pick.
Beyond that, Jimmy and Dee Haslam haven't been blabbing anything to anybody unless Dorsey suggested they do so for strategic purposes.
The only thing that would surprise me about Dorsey's pick is it becoming another bust. I'm pretty sold that the guy knows what he's doing.
For what it's worth, two conspicuous sources came out with their lone mock drafts tonight. Mainstream Mike (Mayock) has the Browns going Darnold at 1 and Bradley Chubb at No. 4. Crazy Mike (Florio) has Baker Mayfield at 1, with the Browns trading with the Giants to 2 for Chubb.
Our guess is Dorsey isn't playing Crazy Mike's part of left field.
2, Troy Aikman (No. 1 overall, 1989) doubts a franchise quarterback is present in this draft, but he adds, "If I was Cleveland, Sam Darnold should be the guy at No. 1."
Aikman was hurried onto the field as a rookie. He went 0-11, including a start in the season finale against Green Bay, which had an injured linebacker named John Dorsey.
3, More from Aikman Wednesday as he prepped for analysis on FOX during the first round:
He called Josh Rosen "as natural a thrower as anyone I've been around," adding, "Durability is a concern. Also, is he coachable?"
He said Baker Mayfield annoyed him because "every time the camera was on him he was yelling or talking to an opponent." He added, "But I like Mayfield a lot. He and Rosen are the only two who can step in and play Week 1."
Aikman sees Josh Allen's accuracy as a real problem: "When you miss those little check downs, flair routes and little throws to the flat, I become alerted."
4, Funniest tweet of the draft season comes from writer Jim Ingraham: "Just to be safe, I'd like to see the Browns trade up from No. 1."
5, NFL Network anchor Rich Eisen Wednesday: "If Saquon Barkley is sitting there at 4, the Browns will be popping champagne corks."
Eisen sounded convinced the Browns will take Sam Darnold at No. 1. Then it's up to the Giants and Jets to determine who's left for Cleveland at No. 4.
Opinions on where Barkley should and will be picked all over the place.
Some interesting backs who were drafted right there at No. 4: Gale Sayers (1965), Walter Payton (1975), Edgerrin James (1999), Ezekiel Elliott (2016), Leonard Fournette (2017).
On the flip side, Brent Fullwood was a No. 4 pick by Green Bay in 1987 and became a teammate of John Dorsey. His last game in the NFL came as a member of the Browns in 1990.
6, Gary Collins, who caught three touchdown passes for the Browns in the 1964 NFL championship game, was a No. 4 pick in 1962.
No. 4 was a major hot spot in the 16 drafts from 1965-81. Seven future Hall of Famers were selected: Gale Sayers, Bob Griese, "Mean Joe" Greene, John Hannah, Walter Payton, Dan Hampton and Kenny Easley.
7, The time has long passed since there was any chance came Ozzie Newsome would "come home to Cleveland" to be the Browns' personnel chief.
At 62, Newsome is running his 23rd and final draft as Baltimore's personnel czar.
"It's a little like when I announced my retirement as a Browns player," Newsome said. "I had decided to retire, and I was asked to come back to play another year."
Newsome thought he was finished as a Browns player after he averaged less than a catch a game in the 1989 regular season. He had a last awakening in the playoffs, making four catches in a win over Buffalo. The Browns' lone postseason victory since that day came in 1994, when Newsome was an emerging personnel guy with the team.
"Oz" would have been better off going to the land of rest. In the 1990 regular season, he caught 23 passes. The Browns went 3-13.
8, Imagine if Dorsey could do with No. 1 and No. 4 picks what Newsome did in his first draft in charge of the Browns-turned-Ravens. In 1996, he spent No. 4 and No. 26 picks on future Hall of Famers Jonathan Ogden and Ray Lewis.
9, Hue Jackson played a role as a Ravens assistant coach in Newsome's maneuvering to get quarterback Joe Flacco at No. 18 in 2008.
"A quarterback has to have physical ability. Joe had that," Newsome said. "Joe had poise. He had a way around his teammates. When Cam (Cameron) and Hue and those guys went to work him out, they came away overwhelmed."
10, Analyst Mike Mayock before the 2014 draft, on wide receiver draft prospects who were college teammates:
"When you put on the LSU tape to watch Odell Beckham, you can't tell which one is Beckham and which one is Jarvis Landry."
The Giants got Beckham at No. 12 overall. The Dolphins landed Landry at No. 63 (one spot after New England took Jimmy Garoppolo).
Sometimes, draft crops just aren't that good, and GMs can be excused for not landing a good player with a high pick.
That wasn't the case in that 2014 draft, in which the Browns chose ill-fated Justin Gilbert at No. 8 overall. There were plenty of good players to be had. Seven of the nine players chosen immediately after Gilbert, including Beckham, have gone to Pro Bowls.
11, John Dorsey scouted running back Duke Johnson prior to the 2015 draft as general manager of the Chiefs.
Johnson was coming off a season in which he rushed for 1,652 yards (6.8 average) and caught 38 passes for 421 yards for the Miami Hurricanes.
"I liked Duke Johnson," Dorsey said. "For a situational, third-down, second back, I really liked him."
At No. 76 overall that year, Dorsey's Chiefs chose wide receiver Chris Conley, who caught 55 passes through his first two seasons, with no touchdowns, then blew out an Achilles early in the 2017 season. The Browns took Johnson at No. 77.
12, Sam Darnold is saying what needs to be said in Texas, where the top picks have gathered for the TV phase of the draft.
Speaking of his pre-draft visit to Berea, he said, "The Browns' coaches were amazing. Their front office is amazing as well."
13, It is hard for those who got to know Orlando Brown to think of "Zeus" without a tear and a smile. The former Browns right tackle was 40 when he died of a rare illness in 2011. He was a good player and a good man.
His son, Orlando Jr., could become a bargain pick this week. He was rated as a first-rounder before grading poorly at the Combine.
Young Orlando said his father is one reason he is motivated to forget about the Combine and have a great pro career.
"I made certain promises to him that I plan on keeping," he said.
Reach Steve at 330-580-8347 or steve.doerschuk@cantonrep.com
On Twitter: @sdoerschukREP