Browns trade Troy Hill to Rams

    The Cleveland Browns would use their first draft pick in the third round on a cornerback in Martin Emerson from Mississippi State and the thoughts of many were of a new rule of thumb in today's NFL- One can never have too many cornerbacks.

The Browns had another plan in mind as on the draft's final day, Cleveland traded veteran slot cornerback Troy Hill to the team that they had signed him before the 2021 season in the Los Angeles Rams.

Hill was signed to a two-year contract and played last season as the team's slot corner finishing the season with two sacks (both in the same game against Cincinnati) and thirty-four solo tackles but with the trade of Hill, the drafting of Emerson makes more sense.

With the much younger and cheaper Emerson starting at the slot, the Browns could save a few dollars (Hill will make 1.5 million in 2022) and that could come in handy currently as the team still has Baker Mayfield and his almost nineteen million dollars on their cap until someone decides to help Cleveland by taking even some of his salary off the Browns ledger.

The key will be the ability of Emerson to adjust to the slot after spending his entire college career at Mississippi State on the outside corner position.

Cleveland received a 2023 fifth-round pick in return for Hill and earlier in the draft's final day, traded one of the fourth-rounders acquired from Houston to Minnesota for the Vikings fifth-round pick and a fourth rounder next season.

The trade put Cleveland back into the fifth round and gave the team two picks in next year's draft, where the Browns have traded their first and third-round picks to Houston for DeShaun Watson.

Cleveland will now have the Vikings fourth and Rams fifth in addition to their own picks in that round.

I will be working on brief reviews of the Browns day three picks tonight and tomorrow.