The Browns took a step far outside the box on Thursday, buying a second-round draft pick for $16 million. Many have praised their daring. Some have questioned their sanity.
As one league insider noted, the team’s ongoing quest to stockpile picks keeps the front office and coaching staff from ever being fully evaluated regarding how the picks are used, and how the players are developed. At any given time, they’ll have a stockpile of future picks that never will be a pile of present problems that stick to the front office or the coaching staff.
Also, it’s hard to put a price on a pick that will come from a range of 32 possible selections. If the Texans stink this year, the Browns bought pick No. 33 for $16 million. If the Texans win the Super Bowl, the Browns bought pick No. 64 for $16 million. That’s a huge range to attach one fixed price; however, chances are that the Texans will be picking closer to 64 than 33.
Those concerns apply regardless of how the locker room will react to the idea of giving $16 million to a guy who may never take a snap with the team. For the players who are working hard for far less money, how will the idea that a stranger to the team got $16 million to remain a stranger to the team be received?
It’s a bold move for the Browns. And who knows whether it will ever pay off? Especially if the Browns end up throwing the Houston second-round pick into a package that will possibly be used to get Jimmy Garoppolo.