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ESPN’s resident draft guru Mel Kiper Jr. currently has Wyoming quarterback Josh Allen going No. 1 overall to the Cleveland Browns in his latest mock draft. But according to Pat McManamon, Kiper sees a scenario where the Browns spring a bit of a surprise by taking running back Saquon Barkley with the top pick.
“It depends on how they stack the board on the quarterbacks,” Kiper said Wednesday on a conference call with the media.
Kiper is a big fan of Barkley, whom he rates as the best player in the draft. He thinks that if the Browns don’t have much separation in their evaluation of the top quarterbacks in the class, they could just take Barkley first and still get whoever remains from the likes of Sam Darnold, Josh Allen, Josh Rosen, or Baker Mayfield with their fourth pick.
If the Browns do go with that plan, Barkley would become the first running back to go No. 1 overall since the Cincinnati Bengals selected another Penn State alum, Ki-Jana Carter, with the top pick in 1995.
It would be quite a sight to see a running back chosen as the top pick once again, especially considering how devalued the position has become in the league. Although, the last few years have seen a return of running backs getting drafted inside the top 10 – and even the top five – after some years which saw none go in the first round.
Kiper’s proposal does make logical sense. If the Browns don’t feel strongly enough about any of the quarterbacks to take one No. 1 overall, they should just take the best player available since they’d still have another shot at picking a QB a few picks later.
Kiper notes that none of this year’s quarterback prospects is anywhere close to a sure thing. So whether the Browns pick one first or fourth, they’ll likely be taking a risk either way. Barkley's not a slam dunk either, but with the success of Todd Gurley, Ezekiel Elliott, and Leonard Fournette in recent years, the Browns may be a bit more comfortable making Barkley the first No. 1 running back in long time.
