Browns to host top QBs this week, reportedly very close to identifying their guy
After passing on Wentz and Watson, the Browns have to take a quarterback
Jim Mora might not consider Josh Rosen a good fit in Cleveland but the Browns won't be dissuaded; they're spending the next few days kicking the tires on all the draft's top quarterbacks this week -- including Rosen.
Oklahoma star Baker Mayfield arrived Monday and will spend Tuesday at the Browns' facility, reports Cleveland.com's Mary Kay Cabot. Wyoming's Josh Allen is set to arrive on Wednesday, and Sam Darnold and Rosen will follow.
The Browns, who have had 28 starting quarterbacks since returning to Cleveland in 1999, are almost certainly taking one with the first-overall pick and, according to Cabot, are "very close" on settling on their guy.
Mayfield, who has drawn comparisons to 2014 Browns' first-rounder Johnny Manziel because of his physical stature and style of play, is in the mix for the top pick and unlike Manziel, the organization was reportedly blown away by Mayfield's leadership skills both at the combine in February and during a private workout last week.
Having a revolving door of quarterbacks visit Cleveland isn't by accident; general manager John Dorsey, who was hired in December and spent last month restocking the Browns' roster, wants to compare the quarterbacks to each other. Coach Hue Jackson confirmed as much.
"That's another piece of information for us,'' Jackson said last week. "That's probably the last piece of the process for us to bring them to campus and have an opportunity to sit down with them in a different environment and talk through the things. But we will discuss how we all felt since the trip. But that will be the final piece for us."
There has been speculation that the Browns would take Mayfield because draft consultant Scot McCloughan is a huge Mayfield fan, even comparing him to Brett Favre. But Allen has also been mentioned as an option because of his strong arm and physical abilities. Then there's Darnold, the USC standout who could also be in the Browns' plans.
"We all know that could happen, but it could not happen, too,'' Jackson said of the Darnold-to-Cleveland rumors. "We're open and very in the process and haven't made that decision yet and we're working towards it. But I don't think any of those things are out of the possibility."
What does seem impossible is the Browns passing on a quarterback after passing on Carson Wentz in 2016 and Deshaun Watson last year.
















