March 01, 2017
INDIANAPOLIS – When the Cleveland Browns made the decision to trade back from the No. 2 overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, they did so because they did not believe that Wentz would be a "top 20 quarterback" in the NFL, according to Browns chief strategy officer Paul DePodesta.
After one season, the argument could be made that Wentz is already a "top 20 quarterback," with certainly the potential to be much more. If given the opportunity to go back and just draft Wentz instead of trading back, Browns general manager Sashi Brown said that he would do it all over again.
"We do like the trade," said Brown. "It positioned us, understanding where we were as a roster, understanding that we were passing on an opportunity at taking on a player or two, whether that was (Joey) Bosa or Wentz, and you tip your hat to Carson. He came in and played well for Philadelphia, and seems to be a quarterback with a high upside. I think this is a trade that probably will work out for both teams."
It feels like a win so far for the Eagles, as they have a cornerstone player to build their team around at, by far, the most important position in American sports.
The cost wasn't cheap. As a reminder, here's the deal the two teams made:
| Browns got | Eagles got |
| 2016 1st round pick (8th overall) | 2016 1st round pick (2nd overall) |
| 2016 3rd round pick (77th overall) | 2017 4th round pick (139th overall) |
| 2016 4th round pick (100th overall) | |
| 2017 1st round pick | |
| 2018 2nd round pick |
"It allowed us to be in a position where we have two one's, two two's, two three's this year as well," said Brown. "We do like the trade for our side, and I think time will tell. All these young guys that came out of that trade somehow tied to that will develop in the league."
Here's what the Browns have done with their picks so far:
• With the eighth overall pick acquired from the Eagles, the Browns traded back again with the Titans, this time to 15th overall, where they selected WR Corey Coleman. As a rookie, Coleman had 33 catches for 413 yards, and 3 TDs. They also received Tennessee's second-round pick in 2017, and third-round pick (76th overall) in 2016, where they got OT Shon Coleman. In 2016, Coleman appeared in seven games, with no starts. They also had to give up a 2016 sixth-round pick to Tennessee.
• With the 77th overall pick acquired from the Eagles in 2016, the Browns traded that along with their fifth-round pick to the Panthers for their third-, fourth-, and fifth-round picks. With those picks they selected QB Cody Kessler, S Derrick Kindred, and OG Spencer Drango. Kessler appeared in nine games (starting eight), and had a 92.3 QB rating before suffering his second concussion of the season. Kindred played in 12 games (starting five), with 46 tackles, no INTs, and no FFs. Drango appeared in 16 games, starting nine.
• The Browns traded the 100th overall pick acquired from the Eagles to the Raiders for Oakland's fourth- and fifth-round picks. With those picks they drafted WR Ricardo Lewis and WR Jordan Payton. In 2016, Lewis had 18 catches for 205 yards and 0 TDs. Payton had 1 catch for 3 yards.
In other words, after several other trades, the Browns' new tale of the tape after several other trades is as follows:
| Browns get | Browns lost |
| WR Corey Coleman | Carson Wentz |
| OT Shon Coleman | 2016 fifth-round pick |
| QB Cody Kessler | 2016 sixth-round pick |
| S Derrick Kindred | 2017 fourth round pick (139th overall) |
| OG Spencer Drango | |
| WR Ricardo Lewis | |
| WR Jordan Payton | |
| 2017 first-round pick (12th overall) | |
| 2017 second-round pick from TEN (51st overall) | |
| 2018 second-round pick |
What do you think? If you were Howie Roseman, would you do the Carson Wentz deal again if given a second chance?
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