BarleyNY

Medium rare? I always knew you were an intelligent person with great taste.

I don't think they're just looking for the most bodies they can acquire. This group will move around to get specific players they want. That will be especially true if they have a desired QB. I suspect they do, but I'm not sure who it is. I'd bet it is one of the four I mentioned - Lynch, Jones, Cook or Brissett - but that might just be me projecting my preference. Also don't be surprised to see them trade some of those picks for some young talent already on the rosters of other teams should it become available.

Sorry, read it as "move back in round 1" as opposed to "move back into round 1". My bad.

Yeah, I think that's the expectation among most Browns fans. They're expecting another trade back to between 15 and 20, depending upon how the draft shakes out. That's very reasonable. They could come up from 32 as well.

That's very possible. They've met with him at least 3 times. He's a local kid from Hinkley, OH (not that that should be a factor). I keep thinking 31 to Denver is a likely spot for Cook too. He worries me as a prospect though.

Agreed. Exactly. Players are not actually traded, contracts are. No contract, no trade. If Norman's agent had found a team to trade for him he'd have had to have signed a contract first.

Watson is being seriously overrated as an NFL prospect. He's a hell of a college QB, but until he shows he can go to a second read I won't be sold at all. Also I suspect Clemson listing him as 6'2" is generous. But there's a whole year to see how he progresses and measures. The Browns are certainly in full, ground up rebuild mode. You got that right. That's what needed to be done and hopefully they've got the right group to do that. The call on bypassing Wentz/Goff to trade down wasn't made by the "analytics guys" though. That was Hue's call. If he had wanted one, they'd have stayed put. I think he's intrigued by RG3, who apparently has looked tremendous in their limited time together, and by developing another raw QB prospect. Whether that's Lynch, Cook, Jones, Brissett or somebody else I don't know.

Agreed. Glad he didn't miss much time so it turns out it wasn't that big of a deal. (Note to those taking great umbrage regarding the comments people like me made about Watkins missing time: Most of us had an "if he misses a lot of time" qualifier to our comments.)

Lynch is actually pretty mobile.

I don't buy the Cardale hype. He's got great raw physical talent and he's very smart, but he is a total project. It'll take years for a team to get him developed enough to see what they've got. That's why he's a Day 3 pick.

Top 10 for Lynch wouldn't surprise me at all. He won't make it out of the teens for sure. If the Browns move back from 2 you have to think it is because they like Lynch as much or better than whichever of Wentz/Goff makes it to them.

http://www.drafttek.com/NFL-Trade-Value-Chart.asp?RequestTeam=Phi If you're calculating it that way the difference would be one mid third round pick according to this chart. That doesn't even consider that the two second round picks the Rams gave up were both in this draft. Or that the Iggles or Bills picks are lower in the second and third rounds. You'd likely be looking at a first, second and third this draft plus a first and second next draft. Ouch. That'd probably be a prohibitively big move up.

Nope, that's not what I'm saying at all. I'm saying that a veteran who hasn't had repeated injury issues, is old enough that wearing down during the season might be an issue and who has proven he knows how to prepare his body is one thing. A third year player who has had repeated injury issues, including non contact injuries that caused him to miss games in both of his pro seasons is another. That's not to say that there isn't an appearance problem, but that's not primarily the issue in my opinion. He does invite additional scrutiny should he get injured again.

I'm not saying that this is the worst thing ever, but there's a huge difference between a veteran, workhorse RB who is getting toward the end of his career missing voluntary workouts and a third year, oft injured WR missing them.

There is no pick I'd hate more than Hackenberg other than Hackenberg in the first round.

That was brutal with Stork. He gift wrapped that game for Miller and Co. I couldn't believe that a team giving away the snap count like that could do that well and make it that far. I assume he did it all season, though I didn't watch Carolina until the playoffs.

Any hit on a QB can end that player's season so I take competent pass protectors over competent pass rushers. I'd take stud pass rushers and competent OTs over the reverse however. Competent pass protectors are a must for a team to function well, but they don't need to be total studs. Competent pass rushers are okay, but a stud or two can make a huge impact on an otherwise good team. If I'm building a team up from the ground and I have a QB my first priority is to keep him healthy. If I'm trying to put a solid team over the top then I'm looking to spend draft capital and money on premium edge rushers.

I don't know. Wentz seems like a Fisher QB morso than Goff, but Goff looks like the best QB in the draft (particularly as a sunny weather QB). The closer we get to draft day without the Rams showing their cards the more I think it'll be Wentz. Maybe all the secrecy is really the new-in-town LA Rams not wanting to give their new fan base two weeks to freak out and revolt about them passing on a Cali, Pac 10 kid for a ND, small school kid. That'd make sense. Of course the other potential reason is that they're trying to milk a pick from the Browns to flip with them. That's not happening, but maybe they're still trying.

If the Browns are serious about trading back (and it appears as though they are) then they have at least one QB they like better than Wentz. Lynch and Cook are the obvious candidates in that case.

If he shows up tomorrow, obviously that is better than if he doesn't show up at all. Let's see where this goes. The youth camp thing is nice and all, but he should be at workouts with his teammates. Stuff like that is great in a player's free time, but he's got work he should be doing - even if it is voluntary. I'd like to see some leadership from Watkins and he hasn't been a leader. He hasn't exactly been an ironman either. And that's the big rub here for me. While we are playing the "what if game", what if he misses significant voluntary workout time and then gets dinged in training camp like he did two years ago? Or gets injured in the season on non-contact plays like he's done two years running? Posting those pics while the rest of his teammates were in workouts was a d**k move as well. I'd wager that he's not going to get a lot of sympathy if he does gets dinged. And I already covered this, but it will all be forgotten if everything goes well for him. But if it doesn't, then it won't. The exception I don't mind on stuff like this is for older vets who are prone to wear down over the season. If those guys are excused, no big deal. You know what you're getting with a 10 year vet and you know that those players will be in proper shape. But even those players are in now.

To be fair, his season wasn't good enough to get the deal he seems to want and he has very little leverage at present. If he held out now the Bills could go get a player like Hoyer and/or find a QB in the draft. Then where would he be? If recent contracts given to young QBs with little game experience - like Osweiler - are used as a gauge for Taylor then one important factor has to be considered: Those QBs didn't hold out for their relatively big deals, they made it to free agency. That's probably what Taylor will need to do if he wants his big payday. Heck, if he does well enough he might still get his deal during this season. There's one, risky option left for him though if he does want to try to force a new deal. He could wait until after the draft. The remaining free agent QBs should all be signed by shortly after. If the Bills don't add a decent prospect or vet, then Taylor would have more leverage. It'd be a risky move and I don't think it'd work, but he could try it. He's just got so much more to lose than the Bills by holding out, I just don't see it as feasible. He needs to be in house, doing everything he can to be successful. That's how he can make himself the most money. Why sabotage his best shot at success - and huge money - with a hold out for what would be a lesser contract? Of course the flip side is "What if he doesn't earn that big contract?" Obviously that's a possibility, but if he doesn't believe in himself then I wouldn't want to give him a big, new contract anyway.

That's all very disappointing. I was hoping he had a reason for missing beyond "I didn't feel like going." At least he's not injured. I'd like to see some leadership out of the guy though. I've read where other posters have referred to him being a leader, but I've never seen proof of it. Being the only player to miss voluntary workouts certainly points to the opposite. Posting a picture of himself on an all-nighter gambling at Hannah's while his teammates are all at those workouts is beyond stupid - and it is disrespectful to his teammates. If Watkins stays healthy and has a great season then nobody will care about stuff like this. But if he gets injured or doesn't have a great year, you can bet it will come back up.

There are a lot of Constituationally protected, yet very stupid, things that people can do. That was one of them.

Well said. I'd be a big value pick so no complaints here. I don't think he will make it close to there though. There's a good chance someone will fall though and I'll be delighted if they get a steal in the second just like last year.

Yup. It takes real cluelessness to think this is something he should be doing. Not a great sign when your employer needs to issue a statement that distances itself from you.