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Say goodbye to another former first-round pick.
On Saturday, the Cleveland Browns’ barrage of trades continued, this time with a subtraction. DT Danny Shelton is headed to the New England Patriots, according to Adam Schefter and Field Yates of ESPN. Cleveland is also giving New England a 5th round pick in 2018. In exchange, the Browns will receive a 3rd round pick in 2019.
Updated via @FieldYates and me: Browns trade Danny Shelton and a 5th round pick in '18 for the Patriots’ 3rd l-round pick in '19. And there it is, the fourth Browns’ trade in less than 24 hours. https://t.co/MQ6Qc8Dmha
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 10, 2018
The OBR had the jump on the Browns’ interest in moving Shelton in their subscriber area last night. But Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network also adds that Cleveland shopped Shelton at the trade deadline last year.
The #Browns shopped DT Danny Shelton at the trade deadline last year and had talks with the #Broncos, among others. They made another attempt this time, locking in on New England last night. Now he’s a #Patriot
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 10, 2018
Cleveland has a very young, but promising trio of defensive tackles under contract in Trevon Coley, Larry Ogunjobi, and Caleb Brantley. They could also bring Jamie Meder back as a restricted free agent. It’s a position they had a surplus at, and although Shelton played quite well, I think one could say he never reached the “Pro Bowl-caliber level” that you would hope for from a former 12th overall pick. Cleveland also was obviously hesitant to pick up his fifth year option in 2019, and trading him before that May 2nd deadline added incentive for New England to make the move.
Overall, this is a trade that does not make the Browns better in 2018. But presumably, it’s a piece of the long-term vision that John Dorsey has for this franchise, and he didn’t think Shelton was an essential part of that.