Written by Pat McManaman at ESPN.com
There’s a way for the Cleveland Browns to own the draft and take a giant step forward in 2017.
That would be to take a bunch of those extra draft picks they have now and use them to move up from the 12th spot to … oh … second.
That kind of trade could net the Browns two standout defensive players to transform a weak side of the ball. Imagine Gregg Williams using defensive tackle Jonathan Allen the way he used Aaron Donald for the Rams, with Myles Garrett also lining up to rush the passer.
Or it could net the Browns a quarterback and a defensive player. Two problems solved, assuming they get the picks right.
Not a bad way to depart a draft.
This all supposes that either San Francisco or Chicago would trade out of the second or third spot, respectively. Both teams have shaky quarterback situations, so both might prefer to stay where they are. The Browns’ analytics also might show that they can stay right where they are at 12 and wind up with an excellent defender. Donald, after all, was the 13th overall pick in 2014.
However, it’s also possible that the Browns could come up with some analytics to make a trade work.
The starting point, of course, would be the Browns’ 12th and 33rd picks this season. The Browns and Eagles set the price for this pick a year ago when Cleveland sent the second overall pick in the 2016 draft to Philadelphia, a pick that wound up being Carson Wentz.
That deal brought Cleveland five picks: first-, third- and fourth-round choices in 2016, and first- and second-round picks in this year’s draft.
The Eagles also got a fourth-round pick.
Let’s say the two fourth-round picks negate each other, and that the Browns might be able to get the second overall pick for four draft picks.
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