It’s tough to avoid the “what-ifs” as a sports fan, even though hindsight is 20/20, and there might not be any NFL franchise with more of those than the Cleveland Browns, who have struggled to find a long-term solution at quarterback for the entirety of their history.
Cleveland media legend Bruce Drennan recently pointed out one missed opportunity from the 2018 NFL Draft that he believes is still haunting this franchise.
In 2018, the Cleveland Browns drafted Baker Mayfield with the first overall pick.
However, Drennan is still hung up on the fact that Cleveland could have drafted Josh Allen, saying, “I’m confident the Browns wouldn’t have been forced to make this disastrous trade with Houston” if the team took Allen.
Where would the Browns be if they had drafted Josh Allen? Bruce says certainly not where they are now!
"I'm confident the Browns wouldn't have been forced to make this disastrous trade with Houston"
–@Bruce_Drennan pic.twitter.com/9CgTuGOcQP
— Bruce Drennan Show (@Bruce_Drennan) February 1, 2025
Allen was considered the first overall pick in 2018, but Cleveland ultimately settled on Mayfield, who also looked like a great pick in his first season.
The common sentiment now is that the Browns should have had more faith in Mayfield instead of giving up on him to bring in Deshaun Watson instead.
Browns fans can’t get too upset about this idea.
Situations matter so much in the NFL, and there’s no guarantee that Josh Allen would have become Josh Allen if he had landed with the Browns instead of the Buffalo Bills.
This is about as dark as things have gotten at the quarterback position for the Browns, and if the team decides to take a rookie at No. 2 overall to wipe the slate clean, who could blame them?
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