Baker Mayfield Josh Allen
The Cleveland Browns could use their No.1 draft pick on either Baker Mayfield or Josh Allen. Pictured: Mayfield and Allen warm up before the Reese's Senior Bowl at Ladd-Peebles Stadium on Jan. 27, 2018 in Mobile, Alabama. Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images

Weeks before the start of the 2017 NFL Draft, it was known that the Cleveland Browns would select defensive end Myles Garrett with the No.1 overall pick. The 2018 NFL Draft is a mere two days away, and it’s unclear what player Cleveland will take when they pick atop the draft for the second year in a row.

There are only a handful of legitimate options for Cleveland, of course, though that’s more than there have been in years past for teams picking first overall. The Browns will grab a quarterback to start the draft: it’s just a matter of which one.

Sam Darnold, Josh Allen, Josh Rosen and Baker Mayfield are all certain to go somewhere in the first round. All four signal callers will likely be top-10 picks, and there’s a strong chance that three of them will be picked in succession to start the draft.

So which one is going to Cleveland?

It probably won’t be Rosen, who is still expected to be a top-three pick. There hasn’t been much of an indication that the Browns will take the UCLA product. He’s much more likely to go to one of the New York teams at No.2 or No.3 overall.

Darnold has seemed like the best bet to be taken first overall for most of the offseason. He entered the 2017 college football season as the projected No.1 pick. Darnold didn’t quite live up to expectations in his sophomore campaign at USC, but his production and upside could make him the safest choice for Cleveland.

Earlier this month, rumors pointed toward Darnold and Allen being Cleveland’s top two candidates. After Allen had a meeting with the organization and general manager John Dorsey, the Browns’ decision became even less clear.

“I know John [Dorsey] likes [Sam] Darnold, and I know he likes Allen’s talent,” a source told Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer less than two weeks ago. “It’ll come down to this: Who do they trust most?”

Allen wowed scouts at February’s combine, showing off an arm that some believe might be worthy of the No.1 overall pick. There remain concerns regarding Allen’s accuracy, considering he only completed 56 percent of his passes in two seasons as Wyoming’s starting quarterback.

But with the draft approaching, Mayfield has all of a sudden entered the fray. Despite the questions surrounding the Heisman Trophy winner’s NFL potential, the latest rumors have Cleveland considering the Oklahoma quarterback with their top overall pick.

Mayfield easily has the best resume of the four quarterbacks that could be taken near the top of the draft. Leading the Sooners to last season’s College Football Playoff, he completed 70.5 percent of his passes for 4,627 yards, 43 touchdowns and six interceptions. Mayfield threw for 40 touchdowns and eight picks the previous year.

Criticisms surrounding Mayfield are mostly aimed at his size. He stands at just over six-feet tall. Rosen and Darnold both check in at 6’4, while Allen towers over Mayfield at 6’5.

Four quarterbacks have been selected with the No.1 overall pick in the last seven drafts, and all of them have achieved some level of success in the NFL.

Cam Newton has won an NFL MVP award and been to the Super Bowl, while Andrew Luck has been selected to three Pro Bowls. Jared Goff made the 2017 Pro Bowl in just his second season. Even Jameis Winston made a Pro Bowl, though he’s had an up-and-down career since being drafted in 2015.

Cleveland last selected a quarterback with the No.1 pick when they took Tim Couch atop the 1999 NFL Draft.

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