FILE - In this Jan. 1, 2018, file photo, Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield celebrates after running back Rodney Anderson scored a touchdown against Georgia during the first half of the Rose Bowl NCAA college football gam...

BEREA, Ohio (AP) - The Cleveland Browns believe all Baker Mayfield has in common with Johnny Manziel are height and a Heisman. Cleveland's twisting, twirling and wholly unpredictable path toward the first-overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft reached its final destination Thursday night with the selection of quarterback Baker Mayfield. “Part of the process in this player evaluation is mixing the pro scouting element with the college draft process,” says new general manager Brian Gaine. “So, if things were standard and we had a first- and second-round pick, a third- and fourth-round pick, that would still give us four players in the top 103. Mayfield took home Heisman honors after completing 70.5 percent of his passes for 4,627 yards with 43 touchdown passes against just six interceptions as a senior. New York has had one of the NFL’s worst running games in recent years, and Barkley is expected to boost an offense that has a veteran quarterback in Eli Manning and star receiver in Odell Beckham Jr.

“It’s unreal, two of the biggest moments in my life in the same week,” said Barkley, whose girlfriend gave birth to a girl earlier in the week. I need more than that.”

The Houston Texans will be bystanders deep into this draft; their first pick is in the third round, 68th overall. But coming off a 0-16 season, the Browns are betting that Mayfield is a better player than USC's Sam Darnold, Wyoming's Josh Allen or UCLA's Josh Rosen, a talented group regarded as the top QB class in years.
In American football, the National Football League starts its draft for the 2018 season, with the Cleveland Browns selecting Baker Mayfield with the first overall pick.