The 2017 NFL Draft is shaping up to be a three-day Cleveland Browns infomercial.
Yes, there will be a Trent Richardson/Johnny Manziel montage. But the Browns are in line to be making plenty of picks as they try to move forward.
The Browns added another pick in Thursday’s Barkevious Mingo trade, a fifth-rounder from the Patriots. That means the Browns have acquired four additional picks in the 2017 draft: A first-rounder from the Eagles via the Carson Wentz trade from last April, a second-rounder from the Titans via a 2016 draft-day trade, the fifth from the Patriots acquired Thursday and the Colts’ seventh-round pick.
The Browns figure to be in line for compensatory picks, too. Per Field Yates of ESPN, the Browns are in line to be awarded compensatory picks in the fourth and fifth rounds.
Those picks are generally announced about a month before the draft.
It’s clear the Browns are going to be busy. We don’t yet know whether they’ll be devoting one of those early picks -- or even a package of them -- towards finding a quarterback, but we can guess they’ll be active. The Browns tied a record by drafting 14 players in 2016 and were also one of the busiest teams making trades during the draft.
The Browns also have the Eagles’ second-round pick in 2018.