Did Cleveland Browns General Manager John Dorsey tip his hand on Friday about who the team will take with the first pick in the NFL Draft, or was it a smoke screen?
As Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com, explained, Dorsey wasn’t shy when asked what he looked for in a quarterback in this year’s Draft.
“You all laugh at me when I say it, but I think hand size is important,” he said during his predraft press conference Thursday. “With that being said, hand size in November and December, when it’s snowing, raining, it’s getting muddy. We all know the elements in Cleveland are going to play a role.”
It’s the kind of message that sent the media and draftniks into a frenzy. Did the man who will make the call on the Browns’ future give everyone a hint which direction the team is leaning, whether it be USC quarterback Sam Darnold or will Josh Allen of Wyoming become the team’s savior?
For weeks, it has been a two-man race, where John Dorsey has been talkative with the media, but has spoken the company line, making sure not to offer too much information. The Browns have needs at several positions, quarterback being the most pressing. The organization traded for Tyrod Taylor and traded away Deshone Kizer, Cody Kessler and Kevin Hogan. The team also signed Drew Stanton this offseason.
Cabot believes if hand size is the standard by which John Dorsey and his staff select a quarterback, it must be Allen. His hand measured 10 1/8 — the only 10-plus mark among the top QBs at the NFL combine.
See, in this case, I guess size does matter.
Dorsey referenced Sam Darnold, who fumbled the ball 21 times in 24 starts at USC. His hand measured 9 3/8, which Browns coach Hue Jackson said at the combine was sufficient.
“You worry about that sometimes,” said Dorsey. “So hand size (is important).”
This isn’t the first rodeo for John Dorsey in the NFL. His previous job was the same position with the Kansas City Chiefs in the National Football League from the 2013 season through the 2016 season. He is a former National Football League player for the Green Bay Packers, and later served, for two decades, in the Packers’ Scouting Department, including Director of College Scouting from 2000 to 2012. He served as the Seattle Seahawks’ Director of Player Personnel in 1999, between two stints in Green Bay’s front office.
And for the first time in some time, it looks as though he has the right plan in place for turning around this misguided franchise. He also said he does not believe the issues with Darnold and his fumbling issues are hard to fix.
“I don’t think it is,” said Dorsey. “(But) I think you have to sit and evaluate how he handles the ball, what are the cause of those fumbles? Evaluate that on a case-by-case basis.”
In case you were wondering, Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield’s hand came in at 9 1/4 and Josh Rosen of UCLA, 9 7/8.