Should Browns flip Greg Newsome II for a wide receiver?

The Cleveland Browns could use a cornerback in Greg Newsome II in exchange for a quality wide receiver to add another element to the offense in 2023. 

One area that the Cleveland Browns will look to address this offseason is adding another wide receiver to the roster that can help elevate this offense with Deshaun Watson under center.

The wide receiver free agency class isn’t as loaded as we’ve seen in years past, so the likely option will be via trade. There are a number of wideouts that the Browns could inquire about and as we saw last season, general manager Andrew Berry won’t hesitate to trade for a receiver after he stole Amari Cooper from the Cowboys last offseason.

Normally, a trade for a premier or rising wide receiver, or any position for that matter, involves exchanging draft picks for players. Cleveland has a ton of talent at the cornerback position, so one of them could be used as trade bait to try and entice another franchise to give up the goods.

Denzel Ward and his massive contract extension from last offseason — whether or not the Browns should have done it — and Martin Emerson, a player coming off a stellar rookie season, likely keep these two on the roster.

That leaves one other outside corner.

Jack Duffin of 247sports.com suggests that the Browns could send Greg Newsome II to the Denver Broncos for wide receiver Jerry Jeudy. This would be a trade that checks all the boxes for Berry and the Cleveland front office.

Newsome is a former first-round pick from the 2021 NFL Draft (26th overall) and has been productive for the Browns in his first two professional seasons. He has started in 26 of the 27 games he has played in. He doesn’t have an interception but does have 15 pass breakups and a half-sack.

He is an outside cornerback but played the slot a season ago. He’s much better on the outside and has said he doesn’t want to go back inside in 2023.

Jeudy would be a great addition to play alongside Amari Cooper and Donovan Peoples-Jones. He will turn 24 in April and will be entering his fourth NFL season. In his first three years in the league, Jeudy has racked up 157 receptions for 2,295 yards and nine touchdowns. He has explosive speed and that’s ideally a guy the Browns will target in a few weeks.

As Duffin pointed out, Jeudy would be a relatively cheap get for the Browns as he is still on his rookie contract with a 5th-year option for next season (was the 15th overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft) and the team could then decide to extend him for around $20 million per year.

Newsome would also be on a rookie deal and if he keeps ascending upward, it could lead to a fifth-year option/extension much like Jeudy.

So should the Browns flip Greg Newsome for a wide receiver? The answer is yes, even if it happens to not be Jerry Jeudy in the end.