Sam Darnold to Skip NFL 2018 Draft

Michael Pham - Editor

Top QB Prospect Sam Darnold has said that he would rather "stay in school next year" than go to next year's draft. This raised the rumor that he was skipping next year's draft just to avoid getting picked by the Browns. Sam Darnold has since denied the rumor.

Sam Darnold denies rumor he'd skip the 2018 NFL draft to avoid being selected by the Browns https://t.co/mHHUMkbED5 pic.twitter.com/3ktd3nA5r8

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) November 28, 2017

Sam Darnold is currently a sophomore at USC where he has led USC to a historic 10-2 run. Darnold has also racked up an amazing stat line in 2017 even with a Pac-12 championship and a bowl game left this season: 3462 passing yards for 24 passing touchdowns and a spotless QB rating of 148. Darnold can also get out of the pocket resulting in 99 rushing yards for 5 touchdowns this year.

The Browns are in the market for an elite quarterback after passing up on top prospects such as Teddy Bridgewater, Derek Carr, Ryan Tannehill, Russell Wilson, Andy Dalton, and more recently, DeShaun Watson. The Browns took up Deshone Kizer who doesn't seem to be their long term solution. In the 2018 Draft, the winningless Browns (0-11) are slated for a no.1 pick and the only other teams that could get the no. 1 pick are the 49ers (1-10) and Giants (2-9). Other than Sam Darnold, only one other prospect shows up on the top 3 for every Mock Draft is Josh Rosen, rising QB who is another Pac-12 player. So if the Browns can't snag Sam Darnold next year, they could roll the dice and take Josh Rosen.

Sources: ESPN.com images.PerformGroup.com