CLEVELAND, Ohio — While the Browns appear poised to stay at No. 2 in the NFL Draft and draft Travis Hunter, the receiver/cornerback who’s regarded by many as the best prospect in the draft, they’re apparently fielding calls from teams hoping to trade up.
That’s the word Tuesday from ESPN’s Peter Schrager, who reported that both the Browns and Giants at No. 3 are not only getting calls — but entertaining them.
“There have been phone calls made to both the Browns at 2 and the Giants at 3 with the intention to move up from several different sources telling me there are teams looking to get up in this draft to either the 2 or the 3 spots, (with) the assumption being to move up to the 2 or 3 spot would be for Abdul Carter, Travis Hunter or the running back Ashton Jeanty, the running back who everyone expects to go somewhere in that 5 to 7 to 8 range,” Schrager said on ESPN’s Get Up.
“There have been teams making calls, and those teams (the Browns and Giants) are not immediately slamming down the phone. The Browns at 2 and the Giants at 3. Everyone assumes it’s going to be chalk, that this going to go Cam Ward (to the Titans at No. 1), it’s going to go Travis Hunter, it’s going to go Abdul Carter. Not so fast. I think the 2 spot gets interesting if the Browns are listening to a Godfather deal for them to trade back and them to trade up into the top three.”
Of course, it’s only fitting that teams would be calling the Browns and Giants to inquire about trading up for two players described as “generational” talents in this draft in Hunter and Carter. If they weren’t getting calls, the two prospects would have been wildly overhyped in this cycle.
The key is whether or not the Browns would actually be willing to trade down. If they do, they’d be potentially trading away from the No. 1 prospect in this class in Hunter, and one who counts as two first-round picks with his ability to play both receiver and cornerback.
They’d also be potentially passing on the premier edge rusher in the class in Carter, who would make a formidable duo with 2023 NFL Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett. The two bookend rushers would wreak havoc on quarterbacks for years to come.
While some teams might be calling to trade up for Jeanty, others might also be interested in a quarterback at one of those spots. While the Browns seem to have pivoted away from Shedeur Sanders at No. 2 — despite Berry saying he’s still in play there — other teams might deem him worthy of that pick or the No. 3. The Giants, who conducted late private workouts with Sanders, Jalen Milroe and Tyler Shough last week, might also take one of the QBs there, or perhaps even try to trade up.
As for the Titans at No. 1, GM Mike Borgonzi revealed on Tuesday that they’ve “come to a consensus” as an organization, and are committed to staying put and selecting a player. It’s presumably quarterback Cam Ward, but he declined to say. It rules out one possibility for the Browns, although it was very slim, of trading up to No. 1 for Ward.
The last time the Browns had the No. 2 overall pick, in 2016, they traded it to the Eagles for a boatload of picks, and then traded down again in the first round. But they didn’t have much to show for their haul over the years, while Carson Wentz, the quarterback for whom the Eagles traded up to No. 2, went 11-2 in 2017 before suffering a season-ending torn ACL. The Eagles went on to win their first Super Bowl that year, which made the trade worthwhile.
This year, the Browns don’t need a similar haul of picks, because they already have 10 in this draft, including five in the first 104. But if they can get some high picks next year, it might make a trade down tempting. The thing is, they wouldn’t want to move so far back that they miss out on one of the generational players or one of the other elite prospects they’ve had their eye on such as LSU offensive tackle Will Campbell, who made his top 30 visit here on May 4th, the same day as Sanders, Travis Hunter and Carter.
Teams that might want move up include the Saints at No. 9, who need a quarterback now that Derek Carr might miss the season with a shoulder injury. But the Browns, poised to start Kenny Pickett or Joe Flacco this season, might be better served by staying put and grabbing a potential Pro Bowl player at both receiver and cornerback, then coming back and finding their quarterback of the future later, even if they have to trade back into the first round to get him.
Regardless, the draft now starts at No. 2, and things could get interesting on Thursday night.
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