John Dorsey sure knows how to fire up his base and the seemingly endless field of Democratic Presidential candidates could learn a few things from the engineer of the rebuild of the Cleveland Browns.Dorsey allowed the first day of free agency (commitments, not official signings, those cannot start until today) to quietly go slide by and Browns fans wondered about Dorsey's plans when linebacker C.J, Mosley, a player desired by most Browns fans, signed with the New York Jets, not the Browns.
Dorsey apparently planned on a more spectacular day two as it would be the Cleveland Browns that would be the talk of the football world at the end of this night.
Earlier in the day, the Browns had made their first transaction in signing defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson in a move that had Browns fans and football scribes giving the team plenty of credit for improving a defensive line's pass rush and sending a front four of the caliber that the Browns have not seen in years.
Dorsey then followed up with a one-year contract with Breshad Perriman, the former Baltimore first-round wideout that revived his career in Cleveland.
Perriman was expected to perhaps exceed that number in salary and the Browns seemed to have retained their base receiving corps at a fair price for the 2019 season.
The Browns looked now to be adding to the back seven with needs to be addressed in the secondary and at linebacker in free agency and the draft with many of the available upgrades taken out of the free agency pool, but John Dorsey not only wasn't finished, he was able to rock more than the football universe, but the sports universe as well.
Trades involving Odell Beckham had been rumored for months and not only with the Browns.
It was tough to see why the Giants signed Beckham to a five-year/ninety million dollar contract, paid him a sizable upfront bonus and they would shop him as available, but available he seemed to be, but the Browns had to wonder about the price that they would pay.
After all, one of the other top wideouts in the game was going to be traded in Pittsburgh's Antonio Brown, and using Brown to gauge the market for Beckham, who is younger, made sense.
However, after the Steelers seemed to trade Brown for nowhere near his value (3rd and 5th round pick in April's draft), the Giants appeared to have made the decision to swap Beckham now for the best that they could reel in.
That return was better than Pittsburgh's, but far from what was expected as the Browns traded their first-round pick (17th overall), the third-round pick that the Browns obtained from New England for Danny Shelton (the last pick in the third round before compensation picks) and safety Jabrill Peppers to add Odell Beckham to their roster to solidify the Browns as a contender in 2019.
Beckham caught 77 passes for 1,052 yards and six touchdowns last season over 12 games, for a Giants team that was often criticized for Eli Manning's lack of arm strength to throw the ball downfield and a propensity to check down and dump the ball off to rookie running back Saquon Barkley, who finished the season with 91 catches to show often Manning did just that.
Considering the skills of Beckham, the Browns got away with theft should Beckham perform as expected.
The Browns haven't picked as low as 17 with their own pick in the first round in years and the third is one acquired from New England, so they still have a 3rd rounder.
As for Jabrill Peppers, his play did improve last year at safety, but he never seemed to show the playmaking skills that he was supposed to have (other than a terrific game against Denver last season) and he was very disappointing in the return game.
Some were calling Peppers a bust last night in the euphoria after the trade and even though I've never been a fan of his, calling him a bust is unfair.
Peppers may develop further as a Giant, but including him in the trade didn't exactly make me wince as safety was a position of need with him, showing that losing him wouldn't be a huge hit to the roster.
Odell Beckham's not perfect.
Beckham missed four games last season and twelve in 2017, had issues with the Giants, although he was very popular in the locker room, so he wasn't a clubhouse cancer there, but wasn't afraid to criticize the offense, play-calling, and the eroding skills of quarterback Eli Manning.
That's the downside, other than Beckham's agent already making a little noise about contract modifications similar to those of Antonio Brown, but the Browns have enough space to accommodate those fairly easily.
Now for what the Browns are bringing to Lake Erie.
Odell Beckham is easily in the upper tier of receivers in the game with all the names you would think of as such, has deep speed, excellent hands, and generally hasn't been criticized for a lack of effort.
Beckham's in his prime (turns 27 during the season) and should have his Cleveland transition eased with his good friend and college teammate Jarvis Landry and Adam Henry was his position coach with both LSU and the Giants on the roster/coaching staff.
Spare the trading of a number one, when you consider where that first-rounder resides, this isn't trading that pick for Antonio Brown (31, Beckham's contract will almost be over before he reaches that age), you are getting an elite player in his prime for a middle of the first-round draft pick.
I value draft picks even more than most, but you can't value them that high considering that this trade involves a young superstar and just one first-rounder is involved.
My opinion might have changed if the cost was as rumored earlier in the day (2019 and 2020 first-rounder and backup defensive Emmanuel Ogbah for Beckham and the Giants 2020 second-rounder), but I'm more than fine with this cost.
The Browns still need some help.
They released tight end Darren Fells (a 2018 FA signee) over the weekend and some help for the enigmatic David Njoku couldn't hurt.
The linebackers need help with at least one and maybe even two, depending on where they want to play Olivier Vernon (Likely prefer DE, but can play linebacker) and the status of Emmanuel Ogbah (could they get a 2020 pick at the draft?) and safety was a position that could have used help before trading Jabrill Peppers and now is a spot that John Dorsey must address (Pro Bowler Earl Thomas is rumored to be currently considering the Browns after trading for Beckham).
On paper, this is a team that seems to be at least the division co-favorite and all things considered maybe the favorite in the AFC North.
I'm not sure that they are better than New England or Kansas City yet, but they are going to put lots of points on the scoreboard and they are going to pound some opposing passers.
With a rookie head coach and a second-year quarterback that occasionally shows (on-field) maturity problems, there may be a grace period needed before everyone is on the same page, but finally, the Browns are contenders again.
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