|
Sometimes the draft day machinations get confusing. Take a step back, though, and it's hard to fathom what the Cleveland Browns received in total for trading the second overall pick (and three lower-round picks). The Browns' first trade April 21 with Philadelphia led to four more deals that gave the Browns eight 2016 draft picks, a cornerback and former second-round pick, a first-round pick in 2017, and second-round picks in 2017 and 2018. With the trades that began with the Browns giving up the second overall pick, Sashi Brown and Paul DePodesta got nine players and three future picks in the first or second round. One might excuse them if they looked at the collective world and said: "Analytics that."  The frenzy began when the Browns traded out of the second spot with Philadephia. In the three days of the draft, the Browns made four more trades.
All told, the Browns gave up a first, fourth and fifth-round pick this year and a fourth-round pick in 2017. With the picks they acquired, the Browns gained: WR Corey Coleman (first round, 15th overall) OT Shon Coleman (third round, 76th overall) QB Cody Kessler (third round, 93rd overall) WR Ricardo Louis (fourth round, 114th overall) S Derrick Kindred (fourth round, 129th overall) WR Jordan Payton (fifth round, 154th overall) OT Spencer Drango (fifth round, 168th overall) LB Scooby Wright III (seventh round, 250th overall)
A swap of seventh-round picks on Day 3 led to the team acquiring cornerback Jamar Taylor from Miami. They also acquired the Eagles' first-round pick in 2017, the Titans' second-round pick in 2017 and the Eagles' second-round pick in 2018. Which means the Browns have two first- and second-round picks next year and two second-round picks in 2018. "It wasn't just a playing a game of accumulating extra picks," director of strategy Paul DePodesta said. "It was all with the intent of getting specific players, and this list has just about all of them. These are guys that we have targeted from the beginning, and we felt like they would be good fits for us." How those players perform will ultimately determine how well the Browns did in moving around and drafting. For now, they took players they believe in, players they wanted. The quarterback question lingers, but the Browns traded and traded and traded and traded and traded and acquired nine players and three high draft choices. It's tough to argue those results.
|
