From time to time over the past couple of months, I’ve made the argument on PFT Live that the Browns should consider trading down from No. 2, if they get an offer they like. I might as well make it here, too.
The reason is pretty basic, which allows it to fit within my overall mental bandwidth. Every draft pick is a lottery ticket. Given the current state of the team’s roster and salary cap, they need more tickets that will translate to more affordable rookie deals.
They gave up three first-round picks and more to get quarterback Deshaun Watson. It was a massive blunder, both as to the money paid and the young talent squandered. It arguably was a separate mistake to not flip defensive end Myles Garrett for young, cheap players, after Garrett made it clear he wanted out.
So they should listen. And other teams should call.
Yes, phone calls are routinely made before the draft. In all directions. It’s part of the due diligence that every team does. While there’s an obvious incentive in the media industry to turn the normal way of doing NFL business into borderline breathless reporting, it would be news only if: (1) no one was calling the Browns; or (2) the Browns were refusing to talk.
Last week, Browns G.M. Andrew Berry made it clear that they’re keeping their options open at No. 2.
“All options are on the board,” Berry said during his pre-draft press conference.
Asked later whether they plan to use the second overall pick, Berry said this: “We will make the decision that we think maximizes the impact on the team. You know, whether that’s selecting a player, whether that’s using the resource otherwise. Whether it’s moving up, moving down, trading it for a veteran. . . . [W]e’re going to use it to maximize it.”
The Browns face a very simple proposition. Use the pick or swap it for the various other picks that could be gotten in exchange for it. Surely they know by now who they’ll take at No. 2 — unless, of course, the homeless guy has yet to chime in. Whether it’s Travis Hunter or Abdul Carter or whoever else it might be, they’ll be hoping that one guy will individually have a greater impact on the team than a collection of guys via the package they’re offered would have.
Given where the Browns currently are, there’s something to be said about quantity of picks. Especially given the quantity of cap space that will be consumed in the coming years by the Watson and Garrett contracts.