If the Cleveland Browns had to trade out of the fourth spot, the Oakland Raiders could make sense as a trade partner.
There is not a report being mentioned or rumors surrounding a hypothetical trade, but teams always talk. The Cleveland Browns may not have spoken to the Oakland Raiders yet, but by the time the draft begins they possibly could have.
Oakland is known for making a splash. They hired Jon Gruden to a 10-year contract worth $100 million this offseason. The silver and black also have dealt for and traded away key players. Oh, and no one can forget Oakland dealing Gruden to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for draft picks.
Gruden is an old school kind of coach who prefers to work in his own unique way. His plan for the Raiders will take NFL back to the previous century.
With that in mind, what could they be planning? A trade up possibly for a specific player? If so, a logical spot would be Cleveland’s fourth spot.
As much as I don’t want to see the Browns trade down, trading down a few spots while still drafting a top player because the quarterbacks should be gone early could be worth considering. That’s especially the case if general manager John Dorsey can get value too depending on his board.
The Browns could go in a number of different directions with their fourth pick. If their grades are close when on the clock for the second time, maybe Cleveland could force Oakland’s hand.
Or, Gruden and company could select (assuming they are on the board) NC State’s Bradley Chubb, Penn State’s Saquon Barkley, or Ohio State’s Denzel Ward, among others.
For Oakland, they need help on both sides of the ball. Despite already having Marshawn Lynch and Doug Martin on the roster, they are not going to be around forever. It is not like either are playing like they were five, six-plus years ago as well.
Maybe Oakland surprises everyone and prefers Barkley over a defensive player. By taking him, Gruden gets closer to having his team play like they did back in 1998. If no surprises are made, Ward and Georgia’s Roquan Smith would fit what the Raiders are doing too.
To move up, however, it all depends on how sold Oakland is on a player. If they are 100% in, do they pull a New Orleans Saints and offer all of their draft picks for the fourth pick?
No, that isn’t going to happen, but Cleveland could get their first three picks (10, 42, 74 and an early pick, say a second rounder) next year. That would be the ideal dream.
Ultimately, if a deal were to be agreed to, I’d expect that hypothetical deal to fall just short of three picks and an early one in 2019. Then again, it is the Raiders, so anything could happen.
The plus side to making a deal with the Raiders for the Browns is that they could then trade back up to say the Indianapolis Colts at six and select a player they value more. Indy is looking to completely rebuild their roster and already traded down once.
Next: Tony Grossi's 4.0 mock grades
One thing at a time of course, but such trades are intriguing to think about.