It's a cold, snowy Friday, and the Browns are just two days away from their final home game of 2017.
Seems like a three-question kind of day.
Hey Andrew, Sashi Brown loved accumulating "future year's" draft picks. Do you think John Dorsey is likely to trade the Browns' "Houston" first-round pick for at least two first-round picks (one this year and one next year)? -- Tom V., Chattanooga
This is an impossible question to answer, so I won't try. The draft is months and months away, Dorsey has been on the job for eight days and, while many of these trades get settled upon in the months and days leading up to the draft, many others are made in the heat of the moment. A lot can change between today and late April, so we're not going to try to predict the future.
Here's what we know: The Browns are looking to add as much talent to the roster heading into 2018, and they're in position, as it stands today, to have two picks in the top 10 and four in the top 40 thanks to the first- and second-round picks they acquired from Houston in different trades. If the Browns make all of those picks, they'll have four really good players to add to the roster. If they don't, then they'll be able to acquire even more assets, whether it be in the form of 2018 draft picks, 2019 draft picks or veteran players, by dealing those valuable selections.
When it comes to Dorsey's history with trades of draft picks, there are a handful that stand out. The biggest was his signature move with the Chiefs, as he traded a 2013 second-round pick and a conditional 2014 second/third rounder (it turned out to be a second-rounder) to San Francisco for quarterback Alex Smith. The veteran has been a stabilizing force in Kansas City and is in the midst of a career year. The 49ers flipped both of those picks -- which were ultimately used on wide receivers Justin Hunter (2013) and Cody Latimer (2014) -- in separate trades.
In 2016, Dorsey traded the team's first-round pick (28th overall) and a seventh-rounder to San Francisco in exchange for the 49ers' second-, fourth-, and sixth-round selections within the same draft. He used the 49ers' second-rounder to select defensive lineman Chris Jones, who has been a fixture on Kansas City's D-line, logging 17 starts and appearing in all 29 games. That trade opened the door to another one later in the second round, when he swapped the team's original second-round pick for Tampa Bay's third- and fourth-round selections within the same draft. The Buccaneers used the Chiefs' pick to select kicker Roberto Aguayo.
And in the 2017 draft, of course, the Chiefs made one of the biggest moves of the first round, jumping from 27th to 10th to take Texas Tech quarterback Patrick Mahomes. The cost: a 2017 first-round pick, which Buffalo used to take defensive back Tre'Davious White, a 2017 third-rounder and the team's 2018 first-round pick.
Is Hue Jackson going to hire an offensive coordinator? -- John K., Wakeman
That remains to be seen, but Jackson left the door open to the possibility when he was asked about it last week. He explained why he hasn't had one to this point and said why 2018 might be the right time to potentially change it.
"I thought it was unfair for me when I first came here – I got the job because of what I did on offense – I didn't think it was fair to give anybody that title and not have a football team that was worthy of that guy to be the leader of it when I didn't think it was where it needed to be," Jackson said. "To me, then you guys would have been telling me to get rid of him. I would rather you guys tell me to get rid of me than somebody [else]. It is like a set-up.
"I truly believe a year from now that we are going to be better equipped and in a better situation. Do I want an offensive coordinator? That is definitely a possibility for me, there is no question. At the same time, I knew what I was getting myself into in the beginning. I knew what I needed to do and I wasn't worried about all of the criticism and things that have been said."
With the receiver position not at full capacity with injury and underperforming and Duke Johnson's ability at catching along with him being touted early on in the season, why has he not been a bigger part of the pass game in multiple ways? -- Sean C., Bedford
I'd argue Johnson has been a major part of Cleveland's passing attack considering he leads the team with 56 receptions -- 27 more than the next-best -- and 497 yards. Since he recorded just two catches in the season opener -- a game in which he primarily lined up as a slot receiver -- Johnson has notched at least three in all but one and is averaging 5.6 targets per game. He's five catches away from his career high and will be near 200 receptions for his career by the end of his third season.
