Interesting chain of events.
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The Saga of the Browns-Texans Draft Trade(s) for Deshaun Watson
ByANDREW SPAYDE 12 hours ago
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Browns have executed two trades that involved
Deshaun Watson in the past five years. Most Browns fans probably know this, but it's worth remembering exactly how the Browns first traded
Watson away, before eventually trading for him. Of course, the story goes back even further, to the 2016 NFL Draft, when the Browns held the second overall pick and traded it to the Eagles. But the Browns made a lot more than just that one trade during the 2016 NFL Draft. Let's look back.
THE BROWNS WILD 2016 DRAFT
As much as you don't want to, send your mind back to the 2016 Browns. This was Sashi Brown and Hue Jackson's first season. Mike Pettine and Ray Farmer had just been fired and the clear mandate from ownership was a complete teardown and rebuild. Paul DePodesta was hired before Brown and Jackson and was the architect of the Browns strategy that offseason. The team aggressively shed salary, declining to re-sign homegrown offensive linemen Alex Mack and Mitchell Schwartz, which is almost unthinkable even now. The team then began a frankly impressive series of trade downs in the 2016 NFL Draft.
The Browns sent the second overall pick in the 2016 NFL draft along with a 4th round compensatory pick (#139) in the 2017 draft to the Eagles for the 8th, 77th, and 100th picks in the 2016 draft, the 12th pick in the 2017 draft, and the 64th pick in 2018.
The Browns then traded the 8th overall pick to the Tennessee Titans to move down again, trading pick number 8 and a 6th round pick (#176) to Tennessee for the 15th and 76th overall picks in 2016 and a 2017 second-round pick (#52.)
Finally, the Browns made two trade downs in the later rounds of the 2016 draft, to create even more selections. They traded picks #77 and #141 to Carolina for #93, #129, and #168.
Cleveland also traded pick #100 to Oakland #114 and #154.
These trades are even more impressive taken as an aggregate.
The Browns came into the 2016 draft and traded these assets:
First-Round Pick (#2)
Fifth-Round Pick (#141)
Sixth-Round Pick (#176)
Fourth-Round Pick (#139) in 2017
In return the Browns received:
First-Round Pick (#15)
First-Round Pick (#12) in 2017
Second-Round Pick (#52) in 2017
Second-Round Pick (#64) in 2018
Third-Round Pick (#76)
Third-Round Pick (#93)
Fourth-Round Pick (#114)
Fourth-Round Pick (#129)
Fifth-Round Pick (#154)
Fifth-Round Pick (#168)
Unfortunately for the Browns, a lot of those extra picks never panned out as NFL players. Very few of them are in the league at this point.
#15 – Corey Coleman, WR, Baylor (Signed with the Chiefs this offseason to pursue a comeback.)
#76 – Shon Coleman, OT, Auburn (Signed to the Indianapolis Colts practice squad this offseason.)
#93 – Cody Kessler, QB, USC (Currently out of football)
#114 – Ricardo Louis, WR, Auburn (Plays for the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the CFL)
#129 – Derrick Kindred, S, TCU (Currently out of football)
#154 – Jordan Payton, WR, UCLA (Currently out of football)
#168 – Spencer Drango, G, Baylor (Currently out of football)
#52 in 2017 - DeShone Kizer, QB, Notre Dame (Currently out of football)
#64 in 2018 was traded to the Colts for #67 (Chad Thomas, DE, Miami, who is also currently out of football) and #178, which was then traded to the Patriots as part of a trade-up for kicker Austin Seibert (currently the kicker for the Detroit Lions.)
THE FIRST DESHAUN WATSON TRADE
The Browns came into the 2017 NFL Draft with the first and 12th overall picks, thanks to going 1-15 in 2016 and the Eagles going 7-9. The Browns did not have an incumbent starting quarterback, after releasing both Robert Griffin III and Josh McCown before the draft. Cody Kessler was the default starter but had not played well in 2016. As a result, the Browns were strongly connected with quarterbacks in the draft, including Mitchell Trubisky, Patrick Mahomes, and Deshaun Watson.
As it transpired, the team decided to draft Myles Garrett with the first overall pick in 2017. It was later reported that the team was interested in Patrick Mahomes at #12, but the Chiefs traded up and selected him at #10. The Browns had the opportunity to select Deshaun Watson at #12 but elected to trade the pick to the Houston Texans, who gave the Browns the 25th pick in the 2017 draft and their first-round pick in 2018, which ended up being #4 overall. The Browns selected safety Jabrill Peppers with the 25th overall pick, and Peppers was then part of the blockbuster trade orchestrated by John Dorsey for Odell Beckham Jr.
The quarterback the team did end up selecting in the 2017 draft, DeShone Kizer, played just one season for the team before being traded to the Packers in exchange for Damarious Randall and a swap of picks. Meanwhile, we all know what Patrick Mahomes has become and it's worth wondering if he could have reached the same heights in Cleveland. Deshaun Watson went on to have a stellar rookie season, coming in in relief of Tom Savage in the opening game and playing extremely well until tearing his ACL during a practice on November 2. For his rookie season, Watson totaled 1,699 passing yards with 19 touchdowns and eight interceptions.
2018 NFL DRAFT
In the 2018 NFL Draft, the final reverberations of the initial trades in the 2016 draft were felt. The Browns used the first overall pick on quarterback Baker Mayfield and the fourth overall pick, traded to the Browns by Houston in 2017, on cornerback Denzel Ward. Ward, as you know, just signed the largest contract ever for a cornerback and looks set to spend the bulk of his career in his hometown as the Browns' top cornerback.
Another connection between the Browns and the Texans was the 2017 trade that sent Brock Osweiler, a 2018 second-round pick, and a 2017 sixth-round pick to the Browns in exchange for a 2017 fourth-round pick. The Texans did the trade to free up cap space to pursue quarterback Tony Romo, who ended up retiring a month later. The Browns used that 2018 second-round pick on running back Nick Chubb.
2022 BROWNS TEXANS TRADE
Of course, all of these intersecting lines culminated in the Browns trading for Deshaun Watson in mid-March. In this trade, the Browns sent the Texans three first-round picks in 2022, 2023, and 2024 as well as a third-round pick in 2023 and a fourth-round pick in 2022 and 2024. In return, the Browns received Watson and a 2024 sixth-round pick.
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