Cleveland Browns: Best and worst-case scenarios for 2018 NFL Draft picks
By Backwoods
Looking at the 2018 NFL Draft selections by the Cleveland Browns, what are the best and worst likely outcomes for each of the newest selections?
The 2018 NFL Draft will go down as one of the most critical drafts in history for the Cleveland Browns. Each player selected from Baker Mayfield to Simeon Thomas offers great potential and possible hope.
Yet, with any draft pick, the possibility of failure is just as significant.
We examine each of this year’s draft picks and what the likely best-case, and worst-case, scenarios may be.
Baker Mayfield
Many people believe that the absolute best case scenario for Mayfield is to remain on the bench for the entirety of the 2018 season. Although there is great value in sitting and learning the system, I do not agree.
If indeed Mayfield sits throughout the season, we may find that the best learning situations for the young quarterback have come and gone. Regardless of what the 2018 campaign brings, an untested quarterback at the helm for the start of 2019 could be disastrous.
Mayfield was my top choice leading up to the draft and I certainly have every confidence that he will thrive whenever he gets his opportunity. To not get any valuable experience out of the 2018 season would, in my mind, be the worst-case scenario.
Young quarterbacks struggle, and as such, a good season under Tyrod Taylor would quickly be undermined if the following year brings struggles. I do not see Taylor as a superior quarterback, and once Mayfield catches up to the mental aspects of the game, he should permitted to take over control.
A best-case situation for Mayfield is a slow and thorough progression, followed by live-game experience as the starter. Accompanied with enough time to allow an educated determination if Taylor should be retained beyond 2018.
Denzel Ward
In my recent piece (Brewing up bold predictions for 2018), I previously disclosed my idea of a best-case scenario for Ward. That being the NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Year. Having already claimed a starting role, Ward seems on track to stand above the crowd in 2018.
A worst-case scenario for Ward is difficult to pinpoint. Following the disaster the was the Justin Gilbert selection, a similar case would indeed be the worst possible outcome. Having said that, a more reasonable worst-case outcome for Ward, shy of injury, would be to find struggles against the league’s top talents and lose his starting position, thus having a much smaller contribution off the bench.