The Browns withdrew from the running for one of the two top-rated quarterbacks in this year’s NFL Draft by trading down Wednesday from the second overall pick to the eighth as part of a blockbuster deal with the Philadelphia Eagles.
In addition to sending the Eagles the No. 2 overall pick, the Browns surrendered a fourth-round choice in 2017. It’ll be their latest fourth-round selection next year.
In exchange, the Browns received picks in the first (No. 8), third (No. 77) and fourth (No. 100) rounds this year, a first-round selection next year and a second-round choice in 2018.
By pulling the trigger on the trade, they passed on a chance to take one of the two top-rated quarterbacks, California’s Jared Goff or North Dakota State’s Carson Wentz.
The Los Angeles Rams will pick one of them after trading from No. 15 overall to No. 1 last week in a historic deal with the Tennessee Titans. The Eagles will nab the other.
Analytics favors trading down to compile additional picks, and the Browns’ new regime is committed to analytics more than any other front office in NFL history. In theory, more holes can be filled with more selections, and the team’s lackluster roster needs all the help it can get. However, previous regimes have accumulated picks, yet failed to capitalize.
The Browns owned 10 picks before the trade. Now they have the following 12, including six of the top 100: first round (No. 8 overall), second (No. 32), third (Nos. 65 and 77), fourth (Nos. 99, 100 and 138), fifth (Nos. 141, 172 and 173), sixth (No. 176) and seventh (No. 233).
“We are excited about owning 12 picks heading into this year’s draft and acquiring the high future picks in 2017 and 2018,” Browns head of football operations Sashi Brown said in a news release. “These picks will play a major role in building our team for long-term sustained success. We want to assemble a young nucleus of talented players and this trade positions us really well. There is a good depth of talent in the first round and we felt we could make a larger impact to our roster by adding more draft picks and that’s why we made the decision to trade down.”
They may not be done wheeling and dealing, either. The Titans reportedly want to move back into the top 10 after trading down to No. 15 overall, and other logical partners could surface.
Regardless, the Browns won’t win consistently until they secure a legitimate franchise quarterback. Opting to forgo whichever quarterback would have fallen to them at No. 2 overall — Goff or Wentz — decreases the odds they’ll find a long-term answer in the April 28-30 draft.
They could still try, despite signing reclamation-project quarterback Robert Griffin III last month. His two-year, $15 million contract indicates the Browns view him as a bridge starter.
Memphis’ Paxton Lynch and Michigan State’s Connor Cook are widely considered the third- and fourth-best quarterbacks, respectively, in the upcoming draft. Both of them paid pre-draft visits to the Browns last month.
Most draft analysts believe Lynch won’t last until the Browns go on the clock at No. 32 overall. So would they draft him at No. 8 or trade down again and pick him? Would they trade up from No. 32 for him? As for Cook, the Walsh Jesuit High School graduate may still be on the board when the second round begins.
Non-quarterbacks who could be available to the Browns at No. 8 include UCLA linebacker Myles Jack, Notre Dame offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley, Ohio State running back Ezekiel Elliott, Mississippi wide receiver Laquon Treadwell and Georgia outside linebacker Leonard Floyd. Most analysts project Florida State defensive back Jalen Ramsey, Ohio State defensive end Joey Bosa, Mississippi offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil and Oregon defensive lineman DeForest Buckner to be gone before No. 8 overall.
The Browns no longer had the luxury of picking the first quarterback in this year’s class once the Rams leapfrogged them last week. The Titans were never a threat to draft a quarterback at No. 1 overall because they secured the position by picking Marcus Mariota at No. 2 last year.
Although there are conflicting reports about which top-rated quarterback the Rams intend to pick, the prevailing national thought is it’s Goff. Rumblings had surfaced in recent weeks about the Browns preferring Goff, too. The Eagles reportedly favor Wentz.
Nevertheless, the Browns began trade talks with the Eagles weeks ago, before the Rams executed their power play.
“These conversations have been ongoing probably for the last three weeks,” Eagles head of football operations Howie Roseman said during a news conference.
Asked if the intensity increased after the Rams moved to No. 1 overall, Roseman replied, “No, I think it’s been the same tone and tenor throughout.”
The Browns had discussed trade options with other organizations, too. Brown told SiriusXM NFL Radio last week franchises had expressed interest in trading up to No. 2 overall. Then on Tuesday, NFL Network reported Brown had been calling executives of teams with top-10 picks to actively shop the selection.
In one week, the first two picks of the draft were dealt. The Rams and Titans finalized their trade April 13 and announced it the next day. The first two picks hadn’t been traded in the same draft since 1997.
The Rams paid a steep price to jump ahead of the Browns. They traded the 15th overall pick and selections in the second (Nos. 43 and 45) and third (No. 76) rounds this year, plus their first- and third-round choices next year.
In return, the Rams received the No. 1 overall pick and choices in the fourth (No. 113) and sixth (No. 177) rounds this year.
Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Browns blog at www.ohio.com/browns. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/NateUlrichABJ and on Facebook www.facebook.com/abj.sports.