Browns GM John Dorsey is known to be among the most active traders during the NFL Draft. Dating back to his days running the Kansas City Chiefs, Dorsey isn’t shy about picking up the phone and engineering deals to move up or down at every level of the draft.
If Dorsey and the Browns want to pick before the middle of the second round, they’ll have to make another deal. The team currently sits at No. 49 overall after trading away No. 17 to acquire Odell Beckham Jr.
It’s important to understand the price to move up or down from the given draft slots. NFL teams all a draft value trade chart based on a concept Jimmy Johnson created when he was in charge of the Dallas Cowboys some 30 years ago.
The chart assigns a numeric value to each draft pick. The idea is to make the points as equal as possible on both sides of the deal. Values have changed as CBAs and outcomes of trades over the years have altered the worth, but the basic values and fundamentals remain in use to some degree by every team.
An example on how to use the chart:
The Browns hold No. 49 and No. 80 overall. The 49 spot has a value of 410 and No. 80 is worth 190. Add those together and it’s 600, which is the value of the No. 31 pick, currently held by the Rams.
It’s a starting point, not an be-all, end-all. But the chart still has good use as a guideline for the viability of a potential trade.
