The Cleveland Browns continue to throw everyone off their scent. Their latest move in bringing Joe Flacco back to Cleveland after a year away is just another move that will have a domino effect for the rest of the NFL Draft.
The move pretty much solidifies, they’re going with a bridge quarterback for next season and rolling the dice on Travis Hunter or Abdul Carter with the No. 2 pick. I truly hope they know what they’re doing at this point.
Flacco will most likely be the starter and then the squad will probably end up drafting a late-round quarterback to develop. Though if they aren’t competitive this season, it’s likely they just go straight to the draft next year with a high pick.
With their moves alluding to not drafting a quarterback, what it also does is force the New England Patriots to get really creative with the No. 4 pick. They were probably going to get Travis Hunter or Abdul Carter if the Browns opted to take Shedeur Sanders.
Now it’s more likely the Patriots are left with no option but to move away from the No. 4 pick and trade back.
Patriots hit by Browns-Joe Flacco ripple effects that should force trade down
The Patriots have to be frustrated with how things played out when it comes to the NFL Draft. Obviously, hindsight is 20/20, but they could have tried to trade up to ensure they would get either an elite skill player or elite EDGE rusher, both of which are priorities.
They already got their top receiver locked down, though Stefon Diggs is approaching the twilight years of his NFL career. Several NFL mock drafts have the Patriots taking Hunter and now it seems that the Browns will land Hunter.
It all but confirms the best move for New England would be to trade down and pick up another pick or two to get another need. They could go offensive line and Will Campbell and Armand Membou are both top 10 picks, per ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr.
Using an NFL Mock Draft simulator, one very interesting scenario popped up that could work in New England’s favor. I traded their pick twice, first trading No. 4 to the Las Vegas Raiders and then trading the No. 6 pick with the San Francisco 49ers for a haul of picks.
This gave the Patriots the No. 11, No. 75 and No. 100, No. 113 and No. 147 picks. This also allowed them to get Armand Membou to beef up their offensive line at No. 11. Now, it’s unlikely the 49ers give up that much draft capital for one pick, but certainly an interesting scenario.
That said, it was an example to show the Patriots could get a big return for their pick and still get a need at a much more favorable spot. Because this is such an EDGE rusher-heavy class, the Patriots could slip outside the top 10 to get an offensive lineman in the first round.
It’s something Mike Vrabel and Robert Kraft would have to think about as their draft plans probably imploded with how the Browns and New York Giants shaped their teams to allow them to take the best player available.