The fallout from the NFL Draft is always fascinating. When the insiders get into each organization and discover how close they were to shaking up the draft, it forces everyone to consider the sliding doors moments that almost took place.
For the Cleveland Browns, they were in a race with the Super Bowl runner-up, the New England Patriots, for wide receiver KC Concepcion.
According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the Patriots had their eyes set on Concepcion at the end of the first round. There is obviously a lot of smoke around the idea that AJ Brown is going to be a New England Patriot in just a couple of weeks, but that doesn’t mean adding young talent at the position is a bad thing.
Concepcion was on the Patriots board and, for good reason, the league knew that his watermark was at pick 24 to the Browns. Anyone who wanted Concepcion bad enough would have to get ahead of Cleveland at 24. Now, if Concepcion slipped past the Browns for whatever reason, the action was going to heat up, and New England was allegedly going to be a part of it.
Browns come away winners
From the Browns’ side of things, there is something to be said about them almost pulling the trigger to aggressively trade up and go get Denzel Boston at the end of the first round.
Hindsight is certainly 20/20 in this instance because their patience paid off. However, had they gotten aggressive and gone and gotten Boston at say, pick 32, they would have been applauded for it. Instead, they hung tight at 39 and got him there.
Articles like this underscore the stress and pressure-packed moments that are all throughout the NFL Draft. These moments happen fast, and decisions that reverberate throughout history are made in a matter of seconds. Cleveland made out like a bandit in this draft, but it was very close to going several different directions for the Browns.
Now, thanks to their persistent patience in the draft, Cleveland came away with their top tackle target, two of their four top wide receiver targets, and their top defensive target in the draft. It still doesn’t feel like a reality for the Browns, but it is, and it’s a draft like this that could be seen as a turning point in the history of the entire franchise.
This article originally appeared on Browns Wire: Browns were in race with the Super Bowl runner up for top WR target
Reporting by Anthony Moeglin, Browns Wire / Browns Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
