Cleveland has shipped their 2016 first round selection, Corey Coleman, to the Bills for a reported seventh-round draft pick. Let’s discuss this move from both team’s perspective. If you recall, the 2016 draft was the first under Sashi Brown. After a 3-13 campaign in 2015, the Browns earned the second overall pick in that draft.
Breaking down Corey Coleman trade
I think the Browns also moved back in the Coleman draft because they knew they had a unique draft board and so didn’t need to jockey for position to get the guys they wanted. They figured they could get the guys they wanted and get extra picks, too — actually a fairly common strategy. The Browns just figured they’d be employing the strategy all the time, because they really were looking at things from a completely different point of view.
That said, they were still savaged for picking guys like Seth Devalve and Cody Kessler as high as they did. But from a practical standpoint, you can’t take everyone in the 7th round. You’re going to be “overdrafting” some guys, in the eyes of scouts, with the draft board that they had.
Some of the comments made about the Sashi Brown Browns are unfair. The comments aren’t purely analytical. The Browns approach got under the skin of a lot of people in the industry, and made them feel disrespected. The Browns doing so many things differently said to them that the Browns thought they knew better. That really isn’t the fault of the Browns, though; they were allowed to do what they wanted. Their strategy wasn’t given enough time to see whether it would succeed. This comment also applies to a lot of their individual selections. Coleman isn’t the best example, but he is just a third-year player.
What gets under MY skin is that Bill Polian made a pointed remark earlier this week that John Dorsey is a professional, unless the previous guys who were there. I thought emotion got the best of him, and it was over the top. It’s also easy to kick people when they’re down.