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Cleveland Browns: Trading out of the No. 1 pick remains the worst option

By Steven Kubitza

Aug 18, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam, right, talks with executive vice president of football operations Sashi Brown during pre-game against the Atlanta Falcons at FirstEnergy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott R. Galvin-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 18, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam, right, talks with executive vice president of football operations Sashi Brown during pre-game against the Atlanta Falcons at FirstEnergy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott R. Galvin-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Cleveland Browns have countless options when it comes to the No. 1 overall pick, but trading down would be the worst possible choice.

The beauty of having the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft is having the freedom to control your own destiny. Any prospect can be taken, and the draft board can truly have an attainable player at the top spot.

The Cleveland Browns have this luxury in 2017, and the talk of who the team should take has already resulted in several options being considered. Some fans want Myles Garrett with the top pick, while others want a quarterback, whether that be Deshaun Watson, Mitch Trubisky, or DeShone Kizer.

Regardless of who the Browns take, they must take someone at No. 1 overall. Trading out of the pick should not be an option.

There is the potential of a team offering the Browns a large haul of draft picks for that No. 1 pick, but constantly trading down and acquiring picks is much less effective than just taking an amazing talent, such as Myles Garrett.

Yes, several first-round picks are nice to have, but passing on a potential generational talent in the hopes of getting great players in the future is what the Browns have done for two decades, and it never seems to work.

Related: RG3 could be fighting for starting spot in 2017

The mindset coming into the draft should be to take the best talent available at every pick. That means taking players who can make a difference right away, and not holding out hope for future success from players still in college.

And this does not necessarily mean the team has to take Garrett with the No. 1 overall pick. A quarterback can be taken if the team values that player highly, and the front office truly believes he can come in and be a franchise-changing player.

The Browns just need to draft someone. This also means not trading the pick for a backup quarterback, such as Jimmy Garoppolo, as that essentially values him at the level of a No. 1 overall pick, which is just insane.

A lot of the fear of the Browns trading down comes from the opinions of fans and not necessarily from the team, but trading out of the No. 2 pick last season shows fans that it could indeed happen again.

Next: Mock draft scenario: Passing on Garrett

It made sense last year when the team didn’t value Carson Wentz highly enough to select him No. 2 overall, but it would be hard to explain trading down from the No. 1 pick this year with all the talent available.

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