BEREA, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – When the Browns went on the clock for the first time Friday night, they jumped right in on the NFL’s trade-a-palooza that has broken out during this year’s draft to move out of their pick at 44.
They also found a familiar trade partner.
The Browns sent the 44th overall pick in the second round to the Houston Texans, who selected Alabama receiver John Metchie, for pick No. 68 overall in the third round and picks 108 and 124 in the fourth round Saturday.
“Each decision in terms of trading up or moving back is largely based on the pool of players that we have on the board at that time,” executive vice president of football operations and general manager Andrew Berry said. “For us, that decision was made because we did feel like we had a number of players who were graded similarly. I would say that even in this draft class, we did feel like the sweet spot was more mid-to-late second day and in the middle rounds.
“It is really just how the board felt at some of the different spots that we were targeting. We felt good about the value and adding to the volume picks that we would have this weekend.”
Berry didn’t get to pick a player until the third round when they selected Mississippi State cornerback Martin Emerson with the first pick acquired from Houston.
While some fans were disappointed, if not annoyed, by the trade and having to wait so long for the newest Brown to be announced, head coach Kevin Stefanski didn’t seem to mind.
“I think it is exciting. We are sitting up there like you guys watching it on TV and seeing the names come off,” Stefanski said. “The truth is you fall in love with a lot of players during this draft. There are some great football players out there, and you wish you could have all of them, but I thought Andrew and the crew here did a great job of staying true to the board and making sure that we can add value later and add players that we feel like can have an impact this season and really beyond.”
The move out of 44 was hardly a surprise following another run on receivers early in the second round.
“We did not consciously come in saying, ‘Hey, we are definitely going to trade down from No. 44,’” Berry said. “It was how the board fell for us. Now that being said, we do believe in adding volume, whether in the present year or in future years, so we will perhaps always be a little bit more naturally inclined there, but we never go in with a hard and fast rule to say, ‘Hey, regardless of what the what is there, we are going to trade out of it or trade out of the pick.’”
Cleveland kept their two other third round picks and used them on UAB defensive end Alex Wright 78th overall and Purdue receiver David Bell 99th overall.
Berry and the Browns enter day three of the draft with six selections to make: Nos. 108, 118 and 124 in round 4, No. 202 in round six as well as 223 and 246 overall in the seventh round, and a lot of flexibility.
So what does it take for Berry to move up the board?
“Certainly, the overall talent level of the player, the position, the scarcity of the position and then really the acquisition cost – the cost of the actual trade,” Berry said. “When all of those things align, whether it is based on your needs or what you are trying to do on that particular evening, it makes sense to make the move. The reality is if any one of those things do not line up, whether it is there is depth at the position or maybe it does not make sense for us to expend this resource for this particular player if the talent is not there or all of these things line up and maybe we have a trade in the works and then it disappears because of how the board shakes out.”
The Texans and Browns teamed up in March to send Deshaun Watson and a 2024 fourth round pick to Cleveland for three first round picks – 2022, 2023, and 2024 – plus a 2023 third round pick and a 2024 fourth round pick.
Watson then received a five-year, $230 million fully guaranteed contract from the Browns.