Tristan Thompson Doesn’t Sign Qualifying Offer: What Does It Mean? by Nick Dudukovich

The Cleveland Browns mock draft silly season is upon us–and why not? The fan base is already depressed with a 1-2 start, and Johnny Manziel is still riding the bench. So when will the Browns pick and whom will they select?

In WalterFootball’s latest mock draft, the website has the Cleveland Browns picking fourth and drafting Cal quarterback Jared Goff.

From WalterFootball.com:

“I expect Cleveland to target a signal-caller in the 2016 NFL Draft. In a previous update, that would’ve been Christian Hackenberg, but he has dropped considerably after some horribly ridiculous performances. Cardale Jones, meanwhile, sunk his draft stock with a poor start. Jared Goff has been better, and he could end up being the top signal-caller chosen even though NFL teams were critical of him going into the season.”

Goff is second quarterback off the board in this mock, with northeast Ohio native and current Michigan State signal caller Connor Cook going No. 1 to the Chicago Bears–who appear to be in all-out tank mode.

Goff had a nice start to the season, but really hit the mock draft radar after his performance against Texas on national television. In that contest, Goff completed 27 of his 37 pass attempts for 268 yards and three touchdowns. It was even more impressive because the game was on the road.

The next week, Goff followed up with a 342-yard, two-touchdown performance at Washington to begin PAC-12 play.

Through four weeks, Goff has completed 69.2 percent of his passes, while tossing 11 touchdowns against three interceptions.

FoS writer Ric McElroy recently made the case for the Browns taking Goff over hometown hero Cardale Jones:

“Some have compared him to Aron Rodgers–but I’m not there yet. Goff looked good against Texas, utilizing a strong arm and good accuracy. He’s a classic drop-back passer who can move around in the packet to avoid the rush. Against the Longhorns, Goff was 27-of-37 for 268 yards and three touchdowns. Goff would fit the offense here in Cleveland better than most. He’s a film rat and football junky. Cal doesn’t employ a huddle, but that can be taught. He does read college defenses and could pick up that in the pros easily.”

A lot can happen, like maybe the Browns will win a bunch more and won’t be picking fourth (one can hope), but until the franchise identifies a franchise quarterback, playing mock draft in October won’t seem so silly.