Matt Miller talks Browns’ draft trade considerations in his latest scouting notebook

On Friday, Matt Miller of Bleacher Report discussed the latest news and rumors he’s hearing in the NFL, including the 2018 NFL Draft. A few of those rumors involve the Cleveland Browns, starting with the Browns taking calls on trading either the first or fourth overall picks of the draft, but not both of them:

Coming out of Super Bowl week, one rumor I’ve heard from so many places is that the top four picks in this draft are for sale. The Cleveland Browns wouldn’t trade both the first and fourth picks, but they will take calls on moving one of them. The New York Giants (No. 2 pick) and the Indianapolis Colts (No. 3 pick) will also consider trading down.

We’ve already heard that Browns GM John Dorsey made an offer to the Kansas City Chiefs for the services of QB Alex Smith, but was unwilling to give him the lucrative long-term extension he sought. Miller says that “multiple sources confirmed that Dorsey would have aggressively shopped the first overall pick if he had been able to trade for Smith.” That comes off a little surprising, but maybe the team felt they could’ve stayed in the Top 10 for their second pick and still gotten a young quarterback.

Lastly, in one of Miller’s parting shots, he wondered if the Browns hiring Scot McCloughan as a consultant is step one to see if he can handle it, before offering him a full-time role if he can. Miller says that the combination of McCloughan, Dorsey, Eliot Wolf, Alonzo Highsmith, Andrew Berry, and Bobby Vega form “an Avengers-like scouting department” and that if this group can’t fix Cleveland, then no one can (boy, do we know it).

There are plenty of fun non-Browns nuggets in Miller’s column too, so be sure to check it out.