AFC Notes: Browns, Colts, Ravens

Browns

Mike Mayock mentioned Friday that his gut feeling is that the Browns will take USC QB Sam Darnold No. 1 overall.

“If you’re asking me for my gut feel, just based on all the film work I’ve done and talking to people around the league, et cetera, my gut tells me that at one, Cleveland will take Sam Darnold,” Mayock said, via Ohio.com.

However, Mayock believes Browns GM John Dorsey will debate between taking Darnold or Josh Allen.

“I’ve been saying that since the combine — Darnold and Allen — and it comes off watching a whole bunch of tape and having a little bit of a feel for what I call northern weather and having the ability to throw the ball,” Mayock said. “When you talk weather, people worry about rain and snow, and I’m saying no. I’m talking about wind, being able to step in the pocket and throw the ball in heavy winds in December, and immediately Darnold and Allen are the two guys that I think of from that perspective.”

Colts

Colts GM Chris Ballard said that he did not feel that they were in the position to invest in high-priced free agents this offseason and he is instead focused on building through the draft.

“There will come a time here when we will go all-in and people will look sideways at us because we’re giving (players) a huge amount of money,” Ballard said, via Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star. “We just didn’t feel like we were there yet. We don’t think we have a good, young nucleus of players that has really built the culture in the locker room to take in free-agent guys. That’s why we were pretty selective. That’s why all the guys we did take in we felt good about and we felt we got them at a good price for both the player and us.”

Ballard added that the team has nine picks in this year’s draft and expects to have nine selections in the 2019 NFL Draft as well.

“I’m not going to be critical of what’s gone on in the past,” said Ballard. “But we are where we are. We have to draft. With the nine picks we have this year, that gives us a lot of flexibility next year. And we think we’re going to get a comp pick next year. That’s 18 draft picks over two years to really replenish the young players.”

Ravens

• On Friday, the Ravens signed Saints RFA WR Willie Snead to a two-year offer sheet worth up to $10.4 million. (NFLTR)
• According to Jeff Zrebiec, the Snead offer sheet is clear indication that the Ravens didn’t like their chances of signing free agent WR Dez Bryant.
• Zrebiec reports that the Ravens have been in talks with Bryant, but signing Snead and adding Michael Crabtree and John Brown this offseason along with the expectation that they could take a receiver this year’s draft “almost surely take them out of running” for Dez.