The Cleveland Browns have had an active offseason and after signing Paul Kruger and a number of other players, the team has been finalizing its draft plans and one course of action might be a trade move down in the first round.
According to ESPN.com, the Browns are one of the teams interested in trading out of the top 10 and the Miami Dolphins and San Diego Chargers could be in line to move up, as both would like to draft left tackle Lane Johnson from Oklahoma. The Browns feel that they can get an elite player at 11 or 12, where the teams draft, including possibly wideout Tavon Austin, who is quickly becoming the top wide receiver option in the first round by most teams.
The Dolphins may want to trade up into the top seven if they cannot complete a trade for Chiefs left tackle Branden Albert, as they need one after letting Jake Long go in free agency. If they do complete the trade, there is a chance that the team moves down instead of up in the draft, but without it they will definitely try to move in, as they need a left tackle. The Chargers are in a similar position after cutting Jared Gaither and they too would like to take Johnson, but since it is unlikely he will make it out of the top 10, they may want to jump ahead of the Cardinals at seven, as they reportedly are also interested in Johnson.
Austin is considered to be one of the fastest players in the draft and the Browns need playmakers past Trent Richardson and Josh Gordon and Austin could be a good with quarterback Brandon Weeden, who had a similar receiver at Oklahoma State. New head coach Rob Chudzinski could use Austin like Steve Smith in Carolina and he is considered an offensive mastermind along with Norv Turner and Austin could be a big beneficiary of that.
Last year Austin was excellent while working with Geno Smith, catching 112 passes for 1,289 yards and 12 touchdowns and he should be able to transition to the NFL nicely. Austin visited the team earlier in the month and they would like to add more depth past Travis Benjamin at the position. The team has not been ranked high in offense in the past five years; the best being 24th in 2012 and Austin could give the Browns a new element to work with. Although he is a small receiver, many teams have looked at him, including the Jets, Eagles and the Rams.
