The Cleveland Browns are heading into the NFL draft with a ton of options at the fourth overall pick and if the team avoids picking Johnny Manziel or Blake Bortles, a trade for Kirk Cousins with the Washington Redskins could be options along with a later pick of Derek Carr in the first round for Mike Pettine, while the team is also planning on targeting running backs like Carlos Hyde and Andre Williams.
ESPN.com reported earlier in the offseason that the Redskins and Cousins would be willing to talk trades and while nothing came to fruition back then, both sides could have reason to pull one off heading into the draft or during the draft this year. The Redskins do not have a first round pick and they have just six picks overall and Jay Gruden would love to add one or two more heading into the draft and a trade with Cousins would net the team one. The Redskins signed Colt McCoy in the offseason, so Cousins is not the only backup for RG3 and that could lead the team to make a deal.
The Browns on the other hand have 10 picks and two of those are in the first round and that gives the team some flexibility to make moves. On top of that, the team has two third round picks and two fourth round picks and in a draft like this, which has a deep pool of talent, those are very valuable. The team could part with one of those picks in a deal for Cousins and still have the ammo to pick a bunch of talented players, as they have three picks over the first 35 selections in the first and second rounds.
The Browns have a number of quarterback options and they are very likely to take at least one player at the position in this draft, as they got rid of both Jason Campbell and Brandon Weeden this offseason. If Cleveland opts to take someone like Sammy Watkins or Khalil Mack with their first pick at number four, the team is still set later on and one prediction has the Browns taking Derek Carr with their second first round pick, as they feel he can be a starter in the league.
Jon Gruden on ESPN.com said he thinks that Carr is more polished than the top three quarterbacks in Johnny Manziel, Blake Bortles and Teddy Bridgewater and that could lead the Browns to pick Carr over those players. Gruden had high marks for Manziel as well, but it's hard to overlook the stats, as Carr had 5,083 yards, 50 touchdowns and just eight interceptions last season and he also completed nearly 70 percent of his passes while leading the Fresno State Bulldogs to a winning record.
The Browns also could look at the running back position heading into the draft, as Carlos Hyde and Andre Williams are some names that could be available when the pick in the middle rounds. Tre Mason is an option for the team to pair with new free agent running back Ben Tate, while Hyde has gotten good reports from Browns scouts after playing at Ohio State. Last season Hyde rushed for over 1,500 yards and had 15 touchdowns and he could be a pick for the Browns to help boost the rushing game after dealing Trent Richardson to the Colts.
