Cleveland Browns: Which AFC North team had the best offseason
By Randy Gurzi
1. Cleveland Browns
Sure, biased Cleveland Browns page has them coming in as the AFC North team with the best offseason. Well, that’s not exactly the case. Cleveland comes in atop the division not due to any bias, but because of the job general manager John Dorsey did in filling out the roster using trades, free agency, and the draft.
First up was the two big trades. Dorsey was seen chatting it up with New York Giants GM Dave Gettelman at the NFL Scouting Combine which led to the belief a deal for Odell Beckham, Jr. was imminent. Then a trade was announced, but it wasn’t for OBJ.
Instead, the Browns landed edge rusher Olivier Vernon in exchange for guard Kevin Zeitler. Then, a mere days later, the trade fans had been praying for came through as Dorsey landed the superstar wideout. Cleveland gave up a lot for Beckham as it cost a first and third round pick as well as safety Jabrill Peppers.
After this, they added defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson, linebacker Adarius Taylor, and safety Morgan Burnett in free agency. These moves were vital to their draft success as they made sure they didn’t feel as though there was any dire need on the roster.
Doing this is important every year, but more so when there’s no day one pick. Looking at how the draft went, it’s hard to tell that this was the case. Cleveland ended up moving up just three picks to No. 46 in order to get LSU’s Greedy Williams — who was a first-rounder on many draft boards.
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They also landed linebackers Sione Takitaki and Mack Wilson as well as Miami safety Sheldrick Redwine. All this is without even looking at Oklahoma kicker Austin Seibert, who could shore up the kicking game finally. This gave them a potential starter in Williams as well as a core of players who can make an impact right away.
Overall Offseason Grade: A