The Jets' Trade Means the Browns Cannot Take Saquon Barkley at No. 1
By Bobby Burack
Throw out any mock drafts, there has been a blockbuster NFL trade. The Jets have moved up to the third pick in a deal with the Colts:
This could only mean one thing for the Jets: they are taking a quarterback. After missing out on Plan A Kirk Cousins, the Jets are now in the position to select their signalcaller of the future.
The team most impacted by this trade, however, is not actually the Jets or the Colts, but the Browns. The speculation has been that they would select Saquon Barkley first and a quarterback fourth, but now that plan must be omitted.
It seemed that the Browns may be able to draft Barkley, then have the full pool of QBs to choose from three spots later. Now it appears as if they will have limited selection, with not only the Jets moving up but the Giants taking a QB with the second pick.
The Browns have been a mess when it comes to the most important position for decades, and cannot afford to pass up on another franchise QB. This is the same team that may be forever haunted for passing on both Deshaun Watson and Carson Wentz … unless they find their guy.
And it should be Sam Darnold.
If they wait and select a QB fourth, Darnold will surely be gone and it is likely Josh Rosen will be booking a flight to New York (either team) by then. This will mean the Browns – who may be smoke-screening for these two players – will again have to settle for another risky QB that their (losing) environment has historically ruined.
Do not overthink this, if the Browns try to get sneaky here and wait around, they will end up in the same position they have been in – being irrelevant.
While Baker Mayfield, Josh Allen, and Lamar Jackson could all succeed in the right system, that system is not in Cleveland.
After today’s bombshell news, the Browns must pass on Barkley and go get their franchise changer under center.
There is still a possibility that Barkley could be available at the fourth pick. If not, the Browns can recover from passing on a RB that is not a workhorse and isn’t likely to last a decade, but they cannot recover from passing up on another game-changing, potential superstar QB.
Oh, how just one day can change the entire future.