The NFL Draft certainly doesn't sound like it should be the spectacle it has become each year.
NFL teams are put in order from worst to best and are told to select the college players they would like to play for their respective franchises. What the average NFL fan may not know is that the players can outright refuse to play for a specific franchise. By entering the NFL draft, the young players are in no way sacrificing their right to choose which team they would like to play for. In reality, the draft is just a slightly more organized free agency.
The reason it may not be common knowledge to all NFL fans that players don't have to play for the team that chose them is that it doesn't usually happen very often. Bo Jackson did it when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers tried to sabotage his MLB career. More recently and most famously, Eli Manning forced the San Diego Chargers to trade him to the New York Giants for Phillip Rivers and picks.
An instance such as this is often remembered in such a way that doesn't reflect fondly upon Eli as a person. Fans often act as though the players should be grateful for whichever team selects them and sign with no questions asked. The problem with that being, it's the players who are thinking of their careers. Eli didn't want to go to the Chargers because the Chargers were viewed as a disaster of a franchise. He wanted nothing to do with them because, from his point of view, he would go to San Diego and his career in the NFL would be over. Most people think that players should be willing to take over the reins of a franchise and turn it around, but how often does that really happen?
That brings to Josh Rosen and the Browns. Josh isn't the first player in recent years to express concerns about being draft by Cleveland, but I'd say he has come the closest to outright refusal ala Eli. "Close" would really be a stretch. Josh stated that he would be hesitant to enter the draft if the Browns were planning on selecting him. He stated that he would prefer to go to a more stable franchise such as the Giants (because of course). That statement alone opens up a whole cluster of interesting possibilities for the Browns who are probably looking to select a quarterback in the first round of the upcoming draft.
The question is now, what do you do if you're the Browns? The possibilities are quite a bit more intriguing since Josh has spoken up, given the fact the Browns have numerous pathways in which they could approach their first overall pick.
Let us assume the Browns wanted to draft Josh. They might be more inclined to pass on him if they thought he would refuse to play for them. It's also possible that the Browns believe that another team really wants Josh and would be willing to give up their house to have him on their team. Realistically that could be the case whether the Browns wanted to draft Josh or not.
Say the Browns wanted another QB and Josh refused to play for them. The Browns could draft Josh and trade him for the guy they wanted along with some future first-round picks. Much like what happened to the Chargers over a decade ago when they took Eli.
At this moment, most people foresee the Browns drafting a quarterback early but everyone has their own opinions on exactly when and who they take. The whole Rosen statements only add to the intrigue. As of now Rosen, Sam Darnold, Baker Mayfield, Josh Allen, and Mason Rudolph will all be available for the Browns to select and no one knows what they will do. Not even them.