It’s time to recoup some draft picks by trading these three Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns aren’t likely to make the playoffs this season. At 2-5 and a ref’s kiss away from being 1-6, that ship has sailed. Mathematically, it hasn’t. The Browns are still relatively in the hunt to win the division, and could.
In fact, the Browns should still try to win, but they need to consider winning without some of their more “important” pieces. In fact, in any other year with the same record, I would be advocating for re-signing and extending some of these players. After all, a team can be rebuilt in a single offseason with the right coach and scheme.
Look at the New York Giants and Jets. They had quick turnarounds with little to no turnover. They just needed to be healthy in the case of the Jets and to have a head coach who knew what he was doing in the case of the Giants (and be healthy).
So the Browns are not “done” by any means. They’ll likely be a team to beat in 2023, but they need to reload some pieces and change out some others. The problem is, part of that process involves the draft. The Browns gutted their better draft picks to get the mercurial Deshaun Watson. So they don’t have a lot of draft picks right now.
That fact is made worse as the Browns will likely have to replace whole chunks of players from the last three drafts as well. So they need more draft picks to fill out the mounting holes in the team. Plus, with the fact Watson’s contract balloons by $40 million next season, they can’t just rely on free agency.
So trading these four Browns players has to happen.
OT Jack Conklin
Jack Conklin was a huge get for Andrew Berry in 2020. He was an All-Pro and should’ve made the Pro Bowl but for some reason, he got passed over for that honor. 2021 saw him return to form, especially against the run, but injuries brought his season to an end.
Now in 2022, he’s playing well. Not great, not at his old All-Pro level (at least not yet) but he’s been good. So he does have some value, but enough to warrant a trade? I would say yes. The Browns certainly could use him, that’s a matter of fact but he’s on an expiring deal. Get ready, that’s a theme.
Conklin is still going to cost about $6 million against the cap next year regardless due to how Andrew Berry structures and re-structures deals. So it may just make sense to throw another few million to retain him but should the Browns want draft picks, Conklin is someone who can fetch you a third or fourth rounder I’d say.
Another reason to consider trading him is that the Browns have to get younger. They are very quickly getting older and with Conklin being a bit more prone to injury and pushing 30 (he’ll be 29 next year), moving on from him now makes the most sense.
Compensation: Nothing less than a 4th
RB Kareem Hunt
Kareem Hunt should’ve been dealt in a deal when he requested a trade. Now, his trade value has fallen completely off from where it could’ve been. The notion that he was ever a “top running back” once he landed in Cleveland was always something I pushed back on, and now the coaching staff is seemingly in agreement.
Whatever two-back system the Browns thought we had is gone. Hunt is not a two-headed dragon to Chubb, he’s his backup. Hunt has fallen off as a runner, for whatever reason. He’s getting blown up in the backfield and over the last two games, he’s managed just nine carries for 16 yards.
Clearly, the Browns don’t value him anymore. Why should they? You actively get worse when you replace Chubb with Hunt. They are so far from one another’s level that fans are now groaning and complaining when Hunt takes away reps from Chubb. As they should, Hunt isn’t as good and it isn’t even close.
The idea the Browns could get a third-round compensatory pick by letting him go in free agency after the season he’s having is laughable. The Browns would be lucky to get a 7th-round pick for him at this point if they let him walk, that’s how bad he’s been. To think the team is taking away reps from D’Ernest Johnson to feed Hunt.
The Browns will be lucky to get a sixth or seventh-round pick for him at this point. As long as you get two draft picks, I think you can sell fans on the deal.
Compensation: At least two picks, regardless of position
DE Jadeveon Clowney
There was a reason that it took Jadeveon Clowney so long to sign with the Cleveland Browns on two different occasions. He kept holding out for a better deal but no deal was coming. Why? Injury prone, inconsistent, and not the pass-rush presence everyone keeps hoping he’ll be. He’s not a bad player, his play against the run is very commendable and a nice asset to have.
However, the Browns need to think about cutting costs, getting younger, and finding long-term replacements. That means Jadeveon Clowney has got to go. Will it hurt the defense in 2022? Sure. Will it matter? At 2-5, not much does, so let’s think long-term.
Like with Conklin, Clowney is going to be owed money for the next few years by the Browns regardless of what happens to him. So if the team wants to throw a little more at him to keep him, they could. That said, Clowney is turning 30 and has already missed six games for the team over the last two seasons.
While he was a Pro Bowl alternate in 2021, he didn’t make the impact on the defense that he was paid to. Moving him makes sense for the long-term health of the team.
Compensation: Nothing less than a 3rd
LB Sione Takitaki
As with the other three names on this list, you have a player aging out of his prime, heading to a hefty payday (hefty for his value anyway), and who is getting older. Sione Taktaki has been a solid linebacker for the Cleveland Browns and is probably their second-best player at the position behind Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah.
That said, he’s turning 28, and will probably want a three or four-year deal worth more than the peanuts he’s been getting paid now. I don’t know how much more, and frankly, he may be worth it, but this team has to rebuild the defense, which means some guys gotta go. If you can flip an asset who you may want to retain for a draft pick, at this point, with the cap realities coming for this team sooner rather than later, moves like this have to be made.
Does Takitaki demand huge compensation? No, not entirely. He’s not the hardest guy in the world to replace, and it makes plenty of sense to see what you can get in the draft, assuming someone with a louder voice gets heard. So if you can get a fifth or sixth-round pick for Takitaki, heck, even a seventh, I say you do it.
The Browns have to reload after the failure of the last few draft classes and replace some of the aging veterans on this team. That may mean parting ways with a solid hand like Takitaki