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That doesn't mean he might not be their No. 1 choice.

Southern Cal's gun-slinging QB visited with Cleveland's coaching staff and executives on Wednesday as the team continues to evaluate players it may possibly take with the first overall pick in this month's NFL draft.

Darnold is the second top-flight QB this week to visit the team's facility in Berea Kendall Wright Jersey , Ohio. Baker Mayfield, Oklahoma's dynamic Heisman Trophy winner, met with coach Hue Jackson, general manager John Dorsey and others on Tuesday. The Browns will host UCLA's Josh Rosen, Wyoming's Josh Allen and Louisville's Lamar Jackson in the coming days.

Darnold is believed to be the favorite to land with the Browns, who are coming off a 0-16 season and have spent most of the past two decades futilely searching for a franchise quarterback.

The 20-year-old Darnold seems to check all the Browns' boxes: He's big (6-foot-3, 221 pounds) Andy Dalton Jersey , played against strong competition, and is accurate (65 percent). The major knock on Darnold, who started two seasons for the Trojans, is turnovers. He had 22 last season.

Jackson, Dorsey and owner Jimmy Haslam recently attended workouts for Darnold and Allen, considered the top two QBs on Cleveland's board. Dorsey, too Joe Mixon Jersey , has a high regard for Mayfield and attended several of his games last season before he was hired by Cleveland.

During the visits this week, Jackson and his staff will get to know each of the quarterbacks on a more personal level. They'll also get a chance to gauge how well they process information, and their football acumen.

"That's another piece of information for us," Jackson said last week. "That's probably the last piece of the process for us to bring them to campus and have an opportunity to sit down with them in a different environment and talk through the things."

Per league rules, the Browns, who also have the No. 4 overall pick and five in the first two rounds, can host 30 national prospects on pre-draft visits.

The Hurricanes announced the move in a three-sentence statement nearly two months after Francis was reassigned to another front-office position – president of hockey operations – while the team began a search for a new GM that will report directly to new owner Tom Dundon.

Francis Maliek Collins Jersey , 55, is a four-time All-Star who won the Stanley Cup twice with Pittsburgh in the 1990s and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2007. He took over as Carolina’s general manager in 2014 after being groomed for the position by former GM Jim Rutherford – who now is trying to win the Cup for a third straight year with the Penguins.

The Hurricanes, meanwhile, have not made the playoffs since 2009. Their nine-year postseason drought is one of the longest in NHL history.

Francis stockpiled draft picks during the three-plus seasons he spent rebuilding the Hurricanes, but he was criticized for not making enough moves to help the current club and failing to orchestrate a consequential player-for-player trade during that time.

One of his biggest offseason acquisitions was a bust, with goalie Scott Darling coming in from Chicago and finishing with an NHL-worst save percentage of .888 in the first year of his four-year, $16.6 million contract.

The Hurricanes have several key vacancies in their management roster. They’re also searching for a coach after Bill Peters opted out of the final year of his contract earlier this month and subsequently was hired by the Calgary Flames.

Carolina was a winner at the draft lottery over the weekend. It holds the No. 2 overall pick in the June draft.

The Hurricanes also announced that Joe Nieuwendyk resigned as a pro scout and adviser for the team. Nieuwendyk Tony Dorsett Jersey , a Hall of Fame center who played for two decades, previously spent four years as the Dallas Stars‘ GM.

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