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2017 NFL Draft: Gentlemen’s Agreement Made Browns Pass On Ohio State’s Malik Hooker?

By Nick Dudukovich

Sep 3, 2016; Columbus, OH, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes safety Malik Hooker (24) returns his second interception during the second half against the Bowling Green Falcons at Ohio Stadium. The Buckeyes won 77-10. Mandatory Credit: Joe Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 3, 2016; Columbus, OH, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes safety Malik Hooker (24) returns his second interception during the second half against the Bowling Green Falcons at Ohio Stadium. The Buckeyes won 77-10. Mandatory Credit: Joe Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Cleveland Browns could’ve had Malik Hooker in the 2017 NFL Draft, but traded down from pick No. 12 down to No. 25. Apparently, a gentlemen’s agreement got in the way of selecting the Buckeye.

The Cleveland Browns were sitting at No. 12 with a franchise caliber quarterback, Deshaun Watson, available. Sashi Brown also had the pick of the litter as far as defensive talent was concerned. Thanks to a run on offensive players, Alabama defensive lineman Jonathan Allen was there. So was Crimson Tide linebacker Reuben Foster. A name Ohio State Buckeye fans know well, Malik Hooker, was surprisingly there for the taking as well.

The Browns and Hooker seemed like a logical fit. He’s the center field, ball hawking safety in the mold of Ed Reed that Cleveland desperately needs in its secondary.

Jackson attended Ohio State’s pro day. Mock drafts wanted Hooker to reach Cleveland at No. 12, but many thought it was impossible.

Yet there was the 6-2, 205-pound safety, who picked off seven passes in his lone season starting for the Scarlet and Gray.

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And Cleveland traded down.

Julio Jones. All. Over. Again.

At some point, you’ve got to walk to the podium and hand in a draft card, don’t you? Not every selection can be as obvious as Myles Garrett, with the first pick.

In an interesting paradigm* for fans of Ohio State and Michigan fans. The player Cleveland passed on, and the one they actually got (For what it’s worth, I like Peppers’ selection at 25 and believe he’ll be an impact maker for years to come).

If Peppers is a good pick, why fuss about it? Because an apparent “gentlemen’s agreement” is being floated as the reason the Browns didn’t select the Ohio State product.

It’s come out that the Browns wanted Texas Tech gunslinger Patrick Mahomes, who went 10th after the Chiefs traded up to get him. Cleveland sat and watched the Chiefs take the quarterback they really wanted, and, according to ESPN Cleveland’s Tony Grossi, the Browns’ brass just didn’t think Hooker would be available to them at 12 (17:54).

"….Mike Silver reported during the course of today while being embedded here was that the Browns had already agreed to trade with Houston, a couple picks prior to that. Houston, obviously wanted to go up for Deshaun Watson and the Browns thought Malik Hooker probably was going to go at 11, so they wouldn’t have had the chance to take him anyways, so they had kind of orally agreed to this trade. So they went down to 25 for that extra pick.”"

All’s fair in only love and war. And that’s it. Don’t even try to lump the NFL draft in there. Despite a silly season where teams bend over backwards to lie and deceive, the Browns promised to keep the agreement they made after Mahomes was drafted 10th, according to Grossi.

Sashi Brown and Houston GM Rick Smith are friends, and their friendship extends back to before the two landed in their current executive NFL positions.

"“I guess it was just a gentlemen’s agreement, that they agreed to this trade,” Grossi said."

The trade down left a lot of Browns fans going to bed with a salty taste in their mouths which would linger until the next night when the Browns finally drafted a quarterback the fan base can finally rally around, DeShone Kizer. Adding the Notre Dame signal caller makes the 2018 first rounder Cleveland got from the Texans look even more shiny.

Next: 5 Rookies Who Should Start For The Browns In 2017

Overall, Cleveland’s latest regime did a good job in its second draft together, but none-the-less, I thought it was interesting that something as so civilized as a gentlemen’s agreement would hold in the cutthroat world of the NFL.

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