Browns don’t sound like a team willing to trade the top pick

The NFL rumor mill sure loves to take wild stabs at what the Cleveland Browns might do with the 2017 NFL draft’s top pick.

For some, it makes sense the Browns will try to trade down and accumulate as many draft assets as possible.

Interestingly enough, Browns executive vice president Sashi Brown isn’t too keen on this idea and even let slip one team picked up the phone and asked about moving up for a quarterback, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport:

#Browns EVP Sashi Brown says they received calls for No. 1 but “feel really good about pick at 1.” One team called about trading up for a QB

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 19, 2017

Others have speculated the Browns will make a move for someone like New England Patriots backup Jimmy Garoppolo. Brown, via Damon Kecman, says otherwise:

https://twitter.com/DownWithDamon/status/854728541677658112

No doubt the Browns have an interest in a quarterback at some point. Brock Osweiler isn’t the answer, but the pick at No. 1 still figures to be Myles Garret.

Look at it this way—the new Browns regime has made smart move after smart move, so passing on a franchise cornerstone on the defensive side of the ball doesn’t make sense. If the team is really concerned their quarterback of choice won’t fall to No. 12, the Browns have plenty of assets to offer in a trade to move back up.

So yes, it’s fun to listen to the rumor mill about the Browns. Oh, and yes, this could all be a smokescreen from Brown himself. But it’s hard to imagine the team has worked this hard to sit where it does only to trade it away or make a huge mistake.