With the 2019 NFL Draft just one week away, the biggest question surrounding the Browns isn't regarding who they'll pick, but when.
Browns general manager John Dorsey wasn't giving any clues to media members assembled for his press conference Thursday.
Cleveland doesn't own a first-round pick because it sent the No. 17 selection to the New York Giants in the blockbuster trade that brought the Browns Odell Beckham Jr. and Olivier Vernon. Questions came flying in about the potential of Dorsey moving the Browns back into the first round via trade. Dorsey was predictably (and understandably) vague in his response.
"If I deem it will help the Cleveland Browns, well, surely I will do that -- if it helps the organization moving forward," Dorsey said. "But the compensation on the back end cannot be outrageous, it has to work on both sides."
As with all teams at this point in the pre-draft process, the Browns likely have the majority of their boards constructed. They know who they think is worthy of a first-round pick.
They're also working toward knowing what's worth moving back up to select one of those first round-graded players.
"You know what? We do hypotheticals," Dorsey explained when asked if he had a group of players he thought would be worth moving up to select. "We ask, 'OK, what happens if this player is here? What do you think about this?' You will move the draft board around and eliminate some guys and say, 'How about if these three guys are here? If we had to move up, what do you think it would cost?' Little games like that."
He did offer a timeline of how long he and his personnel staff will run through such hypotheticals: about three days. However, Dorsey didn't reveal who they'd consider moving up to pick.
The question was posed multiple times from a variety of angles: Do you see a need at linebacker? Is cornerback a position that should be addressed? Is Mississippi State defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons, whom Dorsey called "a phenomenal football player," worth a first-round pick? How might you evaluate a player like that who is coming off an injury?
Dorsey was again understandably guarded.
"I think you just have to wait and let that happen on draft day and see how it unfolds," Dorsey said.
Fair enough. We'll know more in a week.
