CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Unless someone twists his arm, USC quarterback Sam Darnold has no plans to throw at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis on Saturday.
It means the Browns will probably have wait until their private workout and his pro day on March 21 at USC to dig into his arm talent and the reasons he turned the ball over so much in college.
The report of him not throwing -- in workouts that will be televised by NFL Network -- came from ESPN's Adam Schefter and NFL Media's Ian Rapoport, who reported last week that Wyoming's Josh Allen, UCLA's Josh Rosen and Oklahoma's Baker Mayfield will have their arms on display during QB workouts at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Oklahoma State's Mason Rudolph also said on his NFL.com diary that he'll throw with the other top passers in this draft.
Darnold's decision is a departure from the recent trend of top quarterbacks participating in passing drills at the combine, including all of the top prospects in 2017, Jared Goff and Carson Wentz in 2016 and Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota in 2015.
Darnold has been working out with QB tutor Jordan Palmer (Carson's younger brother) in southern California, and rooming with Allen.
The Browns, who have the first and fourth picks in the draft, will crisscross the country over the next six weeks to privately work out all of the top QB prospects, like they've done in recent years when they've had high picks.
Darnold is one of four or five QBs the Browns are considering in the first round, including Allen, Rosen, Mayfield and likely either Lamar Jackson or Rudolph. Darnold and Rosen appear to be front-runners, but ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. has the Browns taking the big-armed Allen at No. 1, and NFL Media's Mike Mayock has a "gut feeling" it will come down to Darnold or Allen for the Browns.
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Darnold, who threw 22 interceptions and lost 14 of 21 fumbles in his 27 starts over two seasons as a starter, must prove that issue to be correctable. His hand measurement will be of interest, with the threshold being over 9.1 or 9.2 inches. Average hand-size in the NFL is about 9.6 inches.
Because of the turnovers, Kiper has Darnold going No. 5 to the Broncos instead of No. 1 or No. 2 to the Browns or Giants.
He described Darnold's 2017 season on a conference last week as shaky after "being the No. 1 pick by a mile going in. That raised some concerns because you saw greatness potentially after his 2016 campaign and this year he fell back.''
He questioned Darnold's number of turnovers.
"Are there some bad habits that we can find a way to remedy ... then you take him,'' he said. "Because I tell you, two years ago and even in the Texas game this year, he looked like a guy that was going to be special. And unfortunately he wasn't able to be consistent the whole year.
"You look at that Washington State, Notre Dame and Ohio State game, those were the games that make you scratch your head and say 'what's going on here?' Because there were a lot of unforced errors in those games.''
Mayock, on his pre-combine conference call Monday, hasn't let Darnold's giveaways keep him from ranking him No. 1 in his top five at each position.
"I have him as my No. 1 quarterback and the reason I do is he has plus size, plus arm strength, outstanding athlete, and I really like the way he extends plays inside and outside of the pocket,'' Mayock said. "And when he scrambles or moves, it's with the intent of getting the ball down the field. His eyes are always up.
"Now the flipside to Darnold are the turnovers and not just interceptions but fumbles. He's got a history of fumbling going back to high school. But I think fumbling can be controlled in the pocket. I think that's one of the few things you can learn in the pocket as an NFL quarterback, is how to keep both hands on the football and control some of the fumbling.
"He is a gunslinger, and he will put the ball up for grabs at times. But he can play in all 32 cities. He can play indoors. He can play outdoors.''
Mayock added last week on 92.3 The Fan, "He's a competitor. But when you talk about safe picks, he's got to reduce drastically the turnovers."
So while Darnold presumably rests his arm on Saturday, Allen, Rosen and Mayfield will have a chance to get a leg up.
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