The Cleveland Browns passed on quarterback Sam Darnold in the 2018 NFL Draft. Now they will get the chance to see him firsthand when they square off against the New York Jets on Thursday night.
Despite their snub, the Browns still did their due diligence on Darnold throughout the draft process. According to Patrick Maks of the team's website, head coach Hue Jackson plans to use every piece of intel they gathered in Week 3:
“We're going to use every piece of information that we can, you can believe it,” coach Hue Jackson said with a smile Tuesday.
“We have an idea of who we're playing — there’s no doubt. He’s a tough, competitive young man. He’s not going to shy away from anything, and he’s going to stand there and try to make plays when need be and doesn’t get rattled much.”
There may be some truth to Jackson's comments. Darnold was touted as one of the best quarterbacks in his draft class. He was the consensus favorite for the No. 1 overall pick up until Cleveland surprisingly went with quarterback Baker Mayfield. Regardless, they still had to study their fair share of film on him in order to ultimately come up with that decision.
This could work in their favor as opposed to the other two teams New York has played thus far. The Detroit Lions were seeing Darnold for the first time considering they have quarterback Matthew Stafford under center. Meanwhile, rumors about the Miami Dolphins trading up in the draft never gained any steam. That said, the Browns are hoping their familiarity with the Jets rookie can give them the edge in Week 3.
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