Saquon Barkley Should be the Number One Overall Draft Pick

The Cleveland Browns, who without question have been the worst team in the NFL and arguably in all of professional sports for quite some time now, are in an intriguing situation for Thursday's NFL draft with the first and fourth picks.  As a matter of fact, what this team does with these first round picks could literally change the franchise for years to come.  A franchise that has repeatedly squandered their opportunities to draft quality players, only to see their choices fail time and time again.

Just about all of the so-called draft experts have the Browns choosing a quarterback with their number one pick, most likely Sam Darnold from USC or even OU's Baker Mayfield.  With their fourth overall pick, many experts have them drafting NC State's Bradley Chubb, who's widely considered as the best pass rusher in the draft.  This is clearly a draft that is loaded with exceptional quality quarterbacks, to the point that we may very well see up to six QB's drafted in the first round alone.

Conventional wisdom says that the Browns should take a QB with the first overall pick, however, with a supposed once in a generation running back like Saquon Barkley there for the taking at number one, I feel that the Browns should draft him and use their fourth pick for a QB.  This could be a gamble for Cleveland as they may not get the best of the available QB's in the first round, but then again, when you've been as bad as they've been for so long, what do you truly have to lose?

What happens if they take Barkley with the number one pick and the QB they acquire with the fourth pick turns out to be a bust?  At least you gambled on choosing a running back that has the highest overall draft grade, is considered by many to be the best player in the draft, and has people comparing him to Adrian Peterson, who was one of the best backs in the league for a decade.

My dad used to say, 'son, if you're going to gamble, gamble in business.'  Should the Browns really care what people think if they manage to screw up another draft?  At this point, I'd say no, take a chance, there will be other solid defensive pass rushers available in the second, third and fourth rounds, hence the reason why they should take Barkely with their number one pick and then a QB at four, as there are so many talented ones to chose from this year.  An organization is only as good as their management, let's see if the Browns take a real chance on Thursday; don't hold your breath on them actually doing so though.