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NFL Draft: The Impact That Branden Albert & The Dolphins Could Have on the Cleveland Browns

By Chris Pokorny
Kim Klement-US PRESSWIRE

Earlier this month, Mike Krupka posted about the rumors that were beginning to circulate about a possible trade between the Cleveland Browns and the Miami Dolphins in the 2013 NFL Draft. Over the past two days, there have been some developments regarding Miami's situation, which in turn would effect the Browns.

Here is how things look from Miami's point of view:

  • The Chiefs seem committed to drafting LT Luke Joeckel with the No. 1 overall pick in the draft.
  • That would give Kansas City reason to trade offensive tackle Branden Albert, who they placed the franchise tag on this season. Albert would be a free agent in 2013, so there is an interest in getting something in return for him right now.
  • The Dolphins did not re-sign former first-round left tackle Jake Long, who signed with the St. Louis Rams in free agency. Therefore, Miami is strongly looking to add a top-quality left tackle to their unit.

The connections between the Chiefs and the Dolphins, with regard to Albert, have been present for awhile. Now, they possibility could be coming closer to being a reality. On Thursday, Arrowhead Pride passed along the information that the Chiefs had given permission to the Dolphins to speak to, but not meet with, Albert.

Earlier today, Mike Jurecki of XTRA 910, reported the following:

Going back to the Browns' initial interest in making a deal with the Dolphins, a trade like this might kill a deal with Cleveland. It was thought that the incentive for the Dolphins to move up would be to draft someone like offensive tackle Lane Johnson ahead of the Arizona Cardinals, as NFL draft analyst Mike Mayock discussed in his conference call on Thursday:

"Cleveland [is] sitting there in front of Arizona," said Mayock, speaking on the possibility of Johnson making it that far. "I have trouble seeing Lane Johnson getting to Arizona cleanly, and so if you are San Diego at 11 and Miami at 12, you've got to make some decisions; do we make a trade for a Branden Albert, or do we look at a free agent to get us through the next year, or, are we going to move up. Miami has ammunition to move up."

The Dolphins have two second-round picks and two third-round picks. Their second-round picks are at No. 42 and No. 54 overall. If the Dolphins give up No. 54 overall for Albert, that doesn't actually cut out the potential of Cleveland swinging a deal with Miami, believe it or not. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com believes the Dolphins could still be interested in moving up for a cornerback (Dee Milliner):

The Dolphins have dumped a ton of money into players this offseason. Losing both of their second-round picks wouldn't even be such a huge deal for them, because they'd still have a pair of third-rounders. If they worked a deal with Cleveland, which is something I'd love to see, the Browns would have No. 12 overall and No. 42 overall. If the Browns moved down to No. 12 overall, who do you think they would be interested in?

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