The bad news in Cleveland is that the Browns have holes at so many positions that rookies could easily make up a quarter of their roster this season. The good news is that they already have enough draft picks to accomplish that -- and they may end up with even more.
The Canton Repository reports, citing sources familiar with Browns General Manager Tom Heckert, that the Browns are leaning toward trading out of the fourth pick, although Cleveland isn’t expected to trade down as far or recoup as much as it did last year, when it swapped picks with Atlanta, which coveted Julio Jones.
But any trade down would likely result in the Browns picking up another pick or two in this year’s draft, and the Browns already have a whopping 13, which includes the Falcons’ first- and fourth-round picks through last year’s Jones trade, plus four compensatory selections.
The Browns probably wouldn’t trade out of the No. 4 pick until they’re on the clock on the night of the first round, as any team targeting a player at No. 4 overall ahead of time would be worried that the Vikings would take that player third. But if there’s a good deal to be made by trading down after the Vikings pick, the Browns would be open to making it. And maybe ending up not with 13 picks in this year’s draft, but 14 or 15.