What If?
It has been reported that back at the start of the new league year, the Cleveland Browns tried to work out a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles. The Browns offered the 35th overall for Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles and the Eagles declined the offer. Cleveland had to look elsewhere for help and ended up landing Tyrod Taylor for a third-round pick. The Browns still got the veteran quarterback they desperately needed, but one can’t help but wonder, what if the Eagles accepted the deal?
Trading for Nick Foles could have altered our draft strategy and the current roster as we know it. Although both quarterbacks will be 29 years old at the start of the season, Foles is the more proven quarterback. Yes, Taylor ended Buffalo’s playoff drought, but Foles just won the Super Bowl. I believe being a more proven asset would have led the Browns away from drafting Baker Mayfield first overall.
With a more reliable, proven winner at the quarterback position, Cleveland could have gone in another direction on draft day. Feeling more comfortable at quarterback could have led the Browns to draft Saquon Barkley. Not only would it give us the best offensive weapon in the draft, but it would perfectly replace what we really did (select Nick Chubb with the 35th pick). The draft probably would have gone very similarly with Denzel Ward being taken fourth overall and Austin Corbett taken 33rd overall.
However, the Browns could have gone another route and probably my dream scenario to select Bradley Chubb with either the first or fourth pick. Trading for a talent like Nick Foles could have made them content offensively and draft on the defensive side of the ball. Would it not have been crazy if we landed Chubb and Ward? The Cleveland Browns defense would be a force to be reckoned with for years to come.
Who knows what would have happened if the Eagles decided to accept Cleveland’s offer. They still could have drafted a quarterback, but maybe opt for Josh Allen who is arguably a one to two-year project. He could sit on the bench without any pressure to start for a couple years.
Anything could have happened, but it didn’t. Not to sound harsh or anything, but Cleveland still landed Taylor, drafted Baker Mayfield and dramatically improved this roster from just one year ago. Josh Gordon is back. We landed Jarvis Landry and Carlos Hyde is playing in Ohio again, so with or without Nick Foles, I’m excited for the 2018 season.
Image: ESPN
