The Cleveland Browns decided to take former Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield with the first overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. It was a move that had only begun to gain ground in the days before talk centering on Mayfield being a prominent figure in the discussion.
This type of dialogue didn't come Mayfield's way until he received the phone call that he was the No. 1 pick when the Browns were on the clock last Thursday night, according to Nate Ulrich of Ohio.com.
Agent Jack Mills also explained Baker Mayfield and his camp never got heads up from #Browns GM John Dorsey that he would be the No. 1 overall pick. They didn't know until Dorsey made the "Buddy Boy" phone call when Cleveland was on the clock. https://t.co/8e1dtYLmcE
— Nate Ulrich (@ByNateUlrich) May 1, 2018
This further fleshes out that general manager John Dorsey had kept the choice for the first overall selection a complete secret throughout the entire process. It had also left Mayfield in the dark of him being the choice for that vaunted spot in the draft despite Dorsey reportedly knowing the 23-year-old was the choice weeks in advance.
It is quite rare for that mystery staying in place weeks even days out before the actual draft. In fact, it has become quite customary for the cat to be out of the bag in terms of who will be the first overall selection. This time around Dorsey and the rest of the Browns' front office kept that out of public knowledge with the wide perception being that the team was leaning toward USC's Sam Darnold for the selection.
Nonetheless, the Browns have decided to roll with one of the most accomplished quarterbacks at the collegiate level this past season. The behavioral issues aside, Mayfield has proven that he has promising talent on the field with a strong arm, accuracy, and decision making with the throws that could help him translate that to success at the next level. Cleveland has much hope riding that he can develop into the franchise quarterback that the team has been searching for quite some time.