If the Cleveland Browns are interested in trading the No. 10 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, they will find lots of precedents. Trading back from the No. 10 pick is the norm of late.
Teams have traded back from the ten spot in three straight drafts. Based on the outcomes, the Browns might want to stay put. It’s been a decidedly mixed bag of outcomes for the trades.
Here are the last three No. 10 picks and trade outcomes, plus some notable older moves that also involved the 10th pick.
2019 – Devin Bush
Pittsburgh sent No. 20 and No. 52 in 2019 and its 2020 third-rounder to Denver for the tenth pick so the Steelers could pounce on Michigan LB Devin Bush.
Denver used the No. 20 pick on Iowa TE Noah Fant. They traded No. 52 as part of a package to move up to No. 42 to select QB Drew Lock.
It’s too early to judge the trade after just one season, but both teams are probably happy. Bush was very impactful as a rookie, racking up over 100 tackles, picking off two passes and recovering four fumbles. He was the AFC Defensive Player of the Week once, too.
Denver has to be pleased with the return. Fant caught 40 passes for 562 yards and three TDs, very impressive figures for a rookie TE. Lock won four of his five starts at the end of the season, completing 64 percent of his passes and solidifying himself as the starter for 2020. The Broncos hold the No. 83 overall pick next week from the trade, too.
2018 – Josh Rosen
Arizona traded three picks to Oakland to move up and take UCLA QB Josh Rosen. The Cardinals gave up No. 15, No. 79 (third round) and No. 172 (fifth round) to move up five spots.
The Raiders selected Rosen’s UCLA teammate, OT Kolton Miller, at 15. They traded No. 79 straight-up to the Steelers for WR Martavis Bryant. The No. 152 was traded, and traded, and traded once again, resulting in the Raiders landing OT Brandon Parker from North Carolina A&T.
Rosen lasted one unimpressive season in Arizona, going 3-10 as a starter and tossing 14 INTs to just 11 TDs. The team around him wasn’t good, but neither was Rosen. The Cardinals traded him to Miami for a 2nd and a 5th in 2019.
The change of scenery didn’t help Rosen. He completed just 53 percent of his passes in six games (three starts), with five INTs against just one TD. The Dolphins are widely expected to use the No. 5 pick to put the nail in Rosen’s coffin after just one season in Miami.
Miller had a rough rookie season as the instant starter at left tackle for the Raiders, but he showed improvement in his second season. He jumped from 60th to 35th in Pro Football Focus tackle rankings for players who were in on at least 50 percent of snaps. For reference, Cleveland’s Greg Robinson was 33rd in 2019. Miller will be the starting LT for Las Vegas in 2020 and beyond.
Bryant never played a down for the Raiders. His off-field issues were a big reason why Pittsburgh wanted to move on, and the Steelers were proven correct. Bryant remains indefinitely suspended by the NFL for repeated violations of the substance abuse policy.
Parker has started 15 games but is currently the Raiders’ swing tackle behind Miller and Trent Brown. He was PFF’s worst-graded offensive tackle in 2018 when he was the primary starting right tackle in Oakland.
2017 – Patrick Mahomes
The Kansas City Chiefs rolled the dice big-time, sending their first- and third-round picks (No. 27 and No. 91) in 2017 and a first-round pick in 2018 to Buffalo to move way up and snag Texas Tech QB Patrick Mahomes.
Buffalo selected CB Tre’Davious White with the No. 27 pick. The Bills traded the third-round pick in a package to move up in the second round to select WR Zay Jones. The 2018 first-rounder got traded to Baltimore as part of a package that ultimately landed LB Tremaine Edmunds with the Bills.
Mahomes is the reigning Super Bowl MVP, a year after winning NFL MVP. That’s a clear win for the Chiefs, but the Bills did pretty well for giving away the chance to draft Mahomes.
White made first-team All-Pro in 2019 and is one of the best cover corners in the league. He has 12 INTs and 43 PDs in his first three seasons. Edmunds has 235 total tackles in his two seasons in Buffalo and earned a Pro Bowl nod in 2019. He’s an emerging young star who is still just 21 years old.
The Bills dropped the ball a bit with Jones, who was dealt to the Raiders for a 5th-round pick in the middle of the 2019 season. He did haul in seven TDs on 56 catches in 2018, starting 15 games.
The Browns trade involving No. 10
Back in 1995, the Browns were involved in a trade centered around the No. 10 pick. It gets a little complicated, however.
The base deal sent Browns RB/KR Eric Metcalf to the Atlanta Falcons for the No. 10 pick. Metcalf had made the Pro Bowl two straight years as a return man but also was one of the most versatile offensive weapons in the league.
Cleveland then traded No. 10 to the San Francisco 49ers, who moved up to draft WR J.J. Stokes. The Browns got back San Francisco’s first-, third- and fourth-round selections in ’95 (30th, 94th and 119th, respectively) and first-rounder in 1996.
Craig Powell, Mike Frederick and Mike Miller were all the Browns got to show for the trade in the 1995 draft. Miller didn’t even make the team out of training camp.
That was the end of the Browns. The franchise cashed in the 1996 first-rounder big-time. The newly minted Ravens drafted Ray Lewis. Enough about that…
Other trades for No. 10
2011 – The Jacksonville Jaguars traded their first and second-round picks (16 and 49) to Washington to move up and select QB Blaine Gabbert. Washington added DE Ryan Kerrigan at 16. The 49th pick got traded, then Washington traded what they got for No. 49 not once but twice and eventually took three players, the best of which was WR Leonard Hankerson.
2008 – The New England Patriots traded No. 7 and No. 164 to the New Orleans Saints for No. 10 and 78. The Saints selected DT Sedrick Ellis at No. 7, the Patriots tabbed LB Jerod Mayo at 10. New Orleans won the deal by selecting OG Carl Nicks at 164 in the fifth round, who was an All-Pro before injuries cut his career short. New England burned the third-rounder on LB Shawn Crable, who didn’t even make the team in his second season.
2007 – Houston traded No. 8 and No. 39 in 2007 and a 2008 second-rounder to Atlanta for No. 10 and veteran QB Matt Schaub. The Falcons selected DE Jamaal Anderson (whiff) and OG Justin Blalock (nice hit) with the picks in 2007. The Texans swung and missed at No. 10 with young DT Amobi Okoye. Atlanta packaged the ’08 2nd-rounder to move up and draft OT Sam Baker in the first that year.
2001 – The Packers traded No. 17 and QB Matt Hasselbeck to the Seahawks for No. 10. Green Bay drafted Jamal Reynolds, who quietly is one of the bigger busts of his era. Reynolds played sparingly in three seasons, recording just 18 tackles. Astute Browns fans might remember Reynolds from the 2004 preseason, when he tried and failed to make it in Cleveland.
1997 – A large swap of picks centered around New Orleans and Oakland, which moved from 10 to No. 2 to draft Darrell Russell. New Orleans took OL Chris Naeole. The Saints made a total of six other trades off the picks acquired. Chase down that rabbit hole if you dare…
