The Cleveland Browns wanted to add veteran wide receiver help. They found a willing partner in the New York Jets, and it didn’t cost them too much. They merely flipped a second-round draft pick, 42nd overall, for the Jets’ third-round pick.
But as a consequence, they have no draft picks next month in the top 73 selections. The Jets’ third-round pick, 74th overall, is now their earliest selection, followed by a compensatory third-round pick at 98 that they got in return for the loss of Kwesi Adofo-Mensah in their front office. Their natural third-round pick found their way to Houston.
They also gave up their first-round pick last year and this year, of course, as part of the trade that fetched them Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson. And now their second-round pick was given up to get him a target in wide receiver Elijah Moore.
While the Browns don’t have any picks in the top two rounds, they are still set up with a rather full draft card. Indeed, they have eight selections overall, including two in the third, fourth, and fifth rounds.
It’s a bit of a different set-up for a franchise that has been so used to drafting in the top 10. But this Browns team seems to think that it is fairly deep now and has turned to filling needs through free agency.
Indeed, they have signed nine players this offseason who were on other rosters a year ago. The biggest move was for veteran defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson, whom they signed to a four-year, $57-million deal. They also signed safety Juan Thornhill, though that came only after releasing starter John Johnson III.
The addition of Moore does give the offense a critical third receiver in support of Amari Cooper and Donovan Peoples-Jones. Now that the Brown intend to have an elite passing offense, they rightly observe that they are going to need to give Watson every opportunity to succeed.
After all, they sacrificed quite a bit in order to acquire him. They’ve gambled their future on it, so it’s imperative that they make the most of it. If the Browns don’t claim their first Super Bowl title in this window, it will unquestionably have been a failure.
