It was never a secret that the Minnesota Vikings wanted to trade out of the No. 3 pick in the draft. And they executed just under an hour before Thursday night’s start of round one.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that the Vikings and Browns have swapped the Nos. 3 and 4 overall picks. Per Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, the Browns gave up selections in the fourth (118), fifth (139), and seventh (211) rounds to pull off the trade. Minnesota only moved down one spot.
The Browns are expected to draft Alabama running back Trent Richardson at No. 3. Per FOX Sports’ Jay Glazer, the Vikings hope to continue trading down the board, and they can still get LSU cornerback Morris Claiborne or USC tackle Matt Kalil if they stay put.
Cleveland made this move, apparently, in an attempt to prevent against the Buccaneers from jumping into the third overall spot. Tampa Bay, sitting at No. 5, was known to be interested in leapfrogging Cleveland to get into the No. 3 hole.