Browns have easy choice at No. 1 thanks to Myles Garrett

The Cleveland Browns could do a number of things with the No. 1 overall pick of the 2017 NFL Draft. They could trade it away for a mountain of draft currency. They could take a gamble on one of the top quarterbacks in the draft (Mitchell Trubisky is apparently on their radar). They could surprise us all by taking a top interior defensive lineman like Jonathan Allen or Solomon Thomas.

Or, they could just do the smart thing and draft Myles Garrett.

The former Texas A&M star pass rusher put enough tape together in his three seasons playing for the Aggies to justify being the first overall player selected in the 2017 NFL Draft well before his stunning combine performance.

Playing in 34 games (including 11 as a true freshman) he racked up 31 sacks and 47 tackles for a loss. His stats this past year (8.5 sacks) are a bit misleading, because he was dealing with an injury for part of the campaign and was constantly facing two and three blockers on every play throughout the season.

Heading into the 2017 NFL Scouting Combine, he was already the top player on big boards on pretty much all the top sites around the nation.

Then came his stunning performance at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Garrett measured in at 6-foot-4 and 272 pounds, a prototypical physical specimen. He then hoisted 225 pounds on the bench press 33 times, showing off some high-level strength.

Then he blew everyone away by running the 40-yard dash in 4.64 seconds. To give you some perspective, he outran every quarterback at the combine this year.

This is the stuff of nightmares, people.

After that, Garrett leaped out of the building with a 41-inch vertical and a broad jump of 128 inches.

These numbers show off his explosion, which was something SEC fans saw on a regular basis when he burst off the edge en route to the quarterback.

For any player, the numbers Garrett put up at the combine are jaw dropping. But this isn’t some workout warrior we’re talking about here. This is a guy that was already being billed as a can’t-miss No. 1 pick. What he did in Indy makes Garrett a no-brainer as the top pick of the draft.

Now, fans of the Browns know this means their team is almost certain to either trade the pick away (something that is on the table) or take another player. The Factory of Sadness didn’t get its name for no good reason, after all.

But Cleveland would be absolutely bonkers to let Garrett slide or go to another team in a trade-up for the top pick. Garrett makes their decision so easy. Just take him, throw a party and look for your quarterback at No. 12 or later in the draft.