The Cleveland Browns gave the Philadelphia Eagles trade in 2016 ended up affecting four teams and the winner is a shocker.
Did you know that the trade between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Cleveland Browns in 2016 is far more confusing, wide-spread, and overly complicated than you could ever hope to understand? Do you also know that because of that one trade, three teams ended up taking their quarterbacks of the future and four teams saw their futures change forever?
That’s right, the Browns and Eagles trade in 2016 dramatically affected four different teams over the years and no one could have predicted it to be so dang complicated and confusing. Sure, everyone knew that the original trade with the Eagles was essentially Philly getting Carson Wentz and the Browns getting back a bunch of draft picks that ended up being of little value from the initial trade.
Yet, if you follow each draft pick from that initial trade to the Eagles, and every player that was taken with those picks, you will find out that the Browns actually came out looking pretty good all things considered. Sure, the Browns missed out on Wentz, but look at the Eagles now; not exactly “winning” after that draft pick. In fact, the winner of that trade ended up being a completely different team that we’ll get to later.
So to better understand how things got so complicated, we should look at the many, many trades that were made possible by the Browns moving that one pick in 2016.
Brace yourselves.
All those trades
In 2016 the Browns traded the Nos. 2 and 139 picks in the 2016 NFL Draft to the Philadelphia Eagles for their picks at Nos. 8, 77, and 100 picks that year, while also getting the Eagles first-round pick in 2017 and a second-round pick (No. 64 overall) in 2018. That first-round pick in 2017 would end up being the No. 12 overall pick and would be so important.
It was a score of epic proportions for the Browns. Too bad they were managed by fools. Despite no player in that first batch of picks being worth a darn, those other picks would turn into so many more picks beyond that. The No. 8 pick in 2016? That got moved to the Titans for the Nos. 15 and 76 picks in 2016 and a 2017 second-round pick, which ended up being at No. 52.
(*Fun fact, the Browns ended up signing the No. 8 pick in that draft in the 2020 offseason who was none other than Jack Conklin.*)
Cleveland then moved the Nos. 77 and 141 picks to Carolina for Nos. 93, 129, and 168. Then the Browns traded the No.100 pick to Oakland for Nos. 114 an 154.
But wait, it’s even more bonkers than you remember being. Remember that No.12 pick in 2017? That got traded to Houston for their No.25 pick in 2017 and their 2018 first-round pick.
So who did the Browns draft when it was all said and down?
The Browns trades and draft picks get finalized
So all that’s pretty self-explanatory. Except it’s not. Remember how Cleveland traded their No. 12 overall pick in 2017 to Houston? That trade netted the Browns a Pro Bowler. A trade with the Colts would also occur, where the original 2018 second-round pick (No. 64 overall) got sent over to the Browns in exchange for the Colts No. 67 overall pick in the 2018 draft and a sixth-round pick (No. 178) later that night. That sixth-round pick got traded with a Browns fourth-round pick to the Patriots where the team selected a wide receiver. So when it was all said and done, what picks did the Browns have and whom did they draft?
"2016 No. 15 – Corey Coleman, WR, Baylor No. 76 – Shon Coleman, OT, Auburn No. 93 – Cody Kessler, QB, USC No. 114 – Ricardo Louis, WR, Auburn No. 129 – Derrick Kindred, S, TCU No. 154 – Jordan Payton, WR, UCLA No. 168 – Spencer Drango, OG, Baylor 2017 No. 25 – Jabrill Peppers, S, Michigan No. 52 – DeShone Kizer, QB, Notre Dame 2018 2018 – Denzel Ward, CB, Ohio State 2018 – Chad Thomas, DE, Miami 2018 – Antonio Callaway, WR, Florida"
Out of those drafts, Corey Coleman, DeShone Kizer, Jabrill Peppers, and Shon Coleman are still on NFL teams. Antonio Callaway is also back in the league as well. Besides one certain Pro Bowl corner, no one else is currently on an NFL team.
That doesn’t end the saga though, no, not at all. Firstly, the Browns traded Corey Coleman for a 2020 seventh-round pick, which got moved around more times than a kid who’s parents are in the military and ended up eventually being a third-round pick in 2020 that landed the Browns Jordan Elliot.
Shon Coleman for a seventh-round pick in 2019, which was later packaged with Josh Gordan in a trade with New England for a fifth-round pick that saw the Browns take Austin Seibert.
The Browns then traded Peppers as part of a trade that saw the team land Odell Beckkham Jr. from the New York Giants.
Seibert got cut, however, to before the 2020 season.
So ultimately what did everyone get?
"Eagles – QB Carson Wentz Texans – QB Deshaun Watson Giants -SS Jabrill Peppers, DT Dexter Lawrence, OLB Oshane Ximines Browns – WR Odell Beckham Jr., DE Jordan Elliot, CB Denzel Ward"
Looking at the Eagles, Carson Wentz and the Eagles were among one of the best teams in the NFL in 2017 but without that one season, the Eagles have had a losing record with him at quarterback. While Wentz went to the 2017 Pro Bowl the same year his team won the Super Bowl, it wasn’t Wentz or his Pro Bowl performances that did it. No, it was Nick Foles, Wentz’s backup. So even though the Eagles gave away a fortune, it hasn’t netted them the success they had hoped for.
That other first-round pick went to Houston, where the Texans got Deshaun Watson, a very good franchise quarterback whom the Browns just handed a loss to in 2020. Despite the Texans mostly-down 2020 season, no one can argue that they made a mistake in picking Watson. You can make that claim for the Eagles, but not for the Texans.
The Giants also somehow snuck into this, as they rebuilt their defense after the Browns traded Jabrill Peppers as part of a package to the Giants to get Odell Beckham Jr. It should be noted that even though the Browns traded Peppers and Kevin Zeitler, they were, in fact, different trades with Peppers and draft picks bringing back Beckham and Zeitler bringing back Olivier Vernon.
Ultimately, when all the trades were made the dust settled, the Browns landed Denzel Ward, Beckham Jr., and Jordan Elliot. While Beckham should be moved in the 2021 offseason, and Elliot has shown very little in the way of development so far in 20202, landing Ward is a huge get. Ward will be the team’s best secondary player for years to come (hopefully) and if that holds true then a multi-time Pro Bowl corner for a multi-time Pro Bowl quarterback isn’t bad.
That said, the winner of the Eagles and Browns 2016 trade ended up being the Texans somehow. Their selection of Watson has given the team their best quarterback ever and it wouldn’t have been possible if the Browns hadn’t fleeced the Eagles the year before.
Who saw that coming?