The Cleveland Browns acted Sunday like they had no interest in earning the first pick in 2017 NFL draft. But they earned it anyway.

Despite leading 14-0 and playing well early against the Pittsburgh Steelers, who benched some of their star players in the game, the Browns forced overtime and were on the doorstep of winning the game but kicked a field goal and watched the Steelers’ backups score a touchdown on their first OT possession in a 27-24 win in Pittsburgh.

This ensures that the Browns will own the top pick for the fourth time in their history and the first time since the Browns picked No. 1 back-to-back in 1999 and 2000. When the Browns’ bus broke down on the way to Sunday’s game, it appeared to be an omen of sorts. But even in losing, they still win.

That could lead to the franchise selecting a quarterback, long a position of weakness. It could also mean taking Texas A&M pass rusher Myles Garrett, who just declared for the draft Saturday night and is roundly viewed as the best player available regardless of position. The Browns also reportedly have a monster draft grade on Garrett, and they own two picks in each of the first two rounds of the draft via trades they made last year. Their other first-round pick, 12th overall, came via the Carson Wentz trade with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Texas A&M pass rusher Myles Garrett could be the first pick in the 2017 NFL draft, which belongs to the Cleveland Browns. (AP) More

That kind of depth could allow the Browns to wait to select another QB — they’ve selected four in the first three rounds since 2010 — down further in the draft. They also could use their extra picks to attempt to trade for one on another team.

If a quarterback is the choice, North Carolina’s Mitch Trubisky, Notre Dame’s DeShone Kizer and Clemson’s Deshaun Watson all have been mentioned as possible first-round picks, but are any worth the top choice? Trubisky was uneven in his bowl game performance against Stanford, Kizer and the Irish missed out on bowl, although Watson remains alive in the FBS championship game against Alabama and could boost his stock again with a big performance.

Browns personnel executives Sashi Brown and Andrew Berry both watched Garrett and Trubisky in person this past weekend at the players’ respective bowl games.

The San Francisco 49ers, who won in Week 16 following the Browns’ first victory of the season, will pick second. There are far more unknowns with their situation amid widespread reports that the franchise will clean house, including firing head coach Chip Kelly and GM Trent Baalke.

The 49ers have previously chosen higher than sixth overall since the NFL merger once — in 2005, when they took Alex Smith with the first pick. Although Smith eventually played well, that selection has traditionally been viewed as the “not Aaron Rodgers” pick.

The Chicago Bears will pick third — the highest they’ve chosen since 1972 (Southern Illinois offensive tackle Lionel Antoine). The No. 4 selection has been the most fruitful in Bears history, netting Hall of Famers Gale Sayers, Walter Payton and Dan Hampton, but the third overall pick also landed the Bears Dick Butkus in 1965.

Rounding out the top five at the Jacksonville Jaguars at fourth overall and the Titans, via the Los Angeles Rams, at five. The Jaguars now will be picking in the top five for six years running. The Titans traded the top pick in the 2016 NFL draft to the Rams for the right to take Cal QB Jared Goff. The Rams struggled, as did Goff, and the Titans earned a high pick this year that could help bolster an emerging team that finished just outside the playoffs.

The New York Jets will pick sixth. That position was kind to them when they landed Leonard Williams two years ago there. Rounding out the rest of the top 10: the San Diego Chargers will pick seventh, the Carolina Panthers eighth, the Cincinnati Bengals ninth and the Buffalo Bills 10th.

Here’s the order of the first 20 picks (with the remaining 12 to be decided by playoff results):

Pick No. Team Wins Losses Ties Win % Opp. win % Notes 1. Cleveland Browns 1 15 0 0.063 0.549 2. San Francisco 49ers 2 14 0 0.125 0.504 3. Chicago Bears 3 13 0 0.188 0.522 4. Jacksonville Jaguars 3 13 0 0.188 0.528 5. Tennessee Titans 4 12 0 0.250 0.506 via Los Angeles Rams 6. New York Jets 5 11 0 0.313 0.518 7. San Diego Chargers 5 11 0 0.313 0.543 8. Carolina Panthers 6 10 0 0.375 0.518 9. Cincinnati Bengals 6 9 1 0.406 0.521 10. Buffalo Bills 7 9 0 0.438 0.482 11. New Orleans Saints 7 9 0 0.438 0.525 12. Cleveland Browns 7 9 0 0.438 0.559 via Philadelphia Eagles 13. Arizona Cardinals 7 8 1 0.469 0.463 14. Indianapolis Colts* 8 8 0 0.500 0.492 15. Philadelphia Eagles* 8 8 0 0.500 0.492 via Minnesota Vikings 16. Baltimore Ravens 8 8 0 0.500 0.498 17. Washington Redskins 8 7 1 0.531 0.516 18. Tennessee Titans 9 7 0 0.563 0.465 19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9 7 0 0.563 0.492 20. Denver Broncos 9 7 0 0.563 0.549

*coin flip at NFL scouting combine will decide 14th and 15th (Colts and Eagles via Vikings)



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Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at edholm@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!

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