Browns' brass gathered together and watched the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft just like the millions of others around the country, but they weren't participants for the first time in more than a decade.
Cleveland entered the night without a first-round pick, which was dealt away last month in the mega trade that landed All-Pro wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., and left content and ready to join the action Friday, when it's set to make its first selection midway through the second round.
"We did not get up into the first round like you guys thought we would, but we have eight picks for the next two days and we look forward to that," Browns general manager John Dorsey said. "I think we are going to acquire some really good football players moving forward."
The first of those eight picks starts at No. 49 in Friday's second round and No. 80 in the third before a six-pick Saturday, including three in the fifth round.
"We always would hope we can get a starter with that mid second-round pick," Dorsey said.
The Giants used the No. 17 pick Cleveland traded to them to select massive Clemson defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence. The Browns also netted Pro Bowl pass rusher Olivier Vernon in the trade that also included guard Kevin Zeitler and safety Jabrill Peppers heading to New York. The Browns also sent the Giants a third-round pick they acquired from New England in a previous trade.
It marked the first time since 2008 the Browns didn't make a first-round pick and just the eighth time in franchise history.
"I'm very happy to have Odell Beckham as the 17th pick in the 2019 Draft," Dorsey said.
Dorsey said there were three players he eyed as potential targets for a trade. The compensation to move up and land them, though, was too steep.
Dorsey wouldn't identify the players but clarified that all three were selected by the end of the first round.
"I think we are in a position now that maybe you exercise a degree of patience in this thing and just see. We will start working tomorrow," Dorsey said. "We always are going to work at this thing to see if we can get up there, but the compensation package was just too much for us as an organization."
