Peter King 2018 NFL Mock Draft: Sam Darnold to Browns, Saquon Barkley to Giants

While many have settled on the Cleveland Browns taking Josh Allen with the No. 1 overall pick in Thursday's NFL draft, Peter King of the MMQB is hearing otherwise.  

"And we're all prisoners of the people we know in this league. And someone I trust, who is very often right and is very well-connected, told me Sunday it's not Allen," King wrote in his mock draft.

The veteran writer instead mocked USC's Sam Darnold to the Browns, with Penn State running back Saquon Barkley going No. 2 to the New York Giants. Allen instead dropped all the way to No. 6 to the Buffalo Bills in a mocked trade with the Indianapolis Colts.

King has the New York Jets taking Josh Rosen at No. 3, Bradley Chubb going to the Browns at 4 and Baker Mayfield being taken by the Arizona Cardinals in another trade with the fifth pick.

The Browns' decision at No. 1 is believed to be down to Allen and Darnold, a pair of young quarterbacks with franchise potential but noticeable flaws. Darnold regressed from his freshman to his sophomore year, turning the ball over more often while throwing fewer touchdowns and struggling in some high-pressure situations. He's nevertheless seen as a much safer bet than Allen, whose ascent up draft boards is almost entirely due to physical gifts and potential.

Allen, who measured at 6'5" and 237 pounds at the combine, has no record of success at the collegiate level. He finished his career at Wyoming, a non-power school, with 5,066 yards and 44 touchdowns against 21 interceptions. In 11 games last season, Allen completed just 56.3 percent of his passes and averaged 6.7 yards per attempt—an alarmingly low number for college football.

Dating back to his high school career, Allen has never completed 60 percent of his passes at any level.