I’m pretty sure that writing a post that combines statistical analysis and the Cleveland Browns is a surefire way to drive away any remaining readers of this journal, but math and the NFL’s worst team are two of my favorite subjects, so against better judgement I’m going to indulge myself.
Browns fans apparently hate the idea of trading away the #1 pick in the upcoming draft, but here’s why I’d do it anyhow (see also Moneyball and Moneyball 2 for my past ramblings on this subject). The draft value chart says the #1 pick is worth 3000 points, a number that is almost certainly more than it should be, which means that the Browns should be able to make a trade similar to any of the deals in the table below. Note that in recent years teams have given up more than 3000 points, so the first pick may even be overvalued beyond what is shown below. The table shows the #1 pick from each of the last four drafts, and the players who were picked at positions equal to the value of that #1 pick. Pro-Bowlers are marked with an asterisk(*), and I’ve highlighted trades that I judged as “good” in green, “great” in bold green, “poor” in red, and “terrible” in bold red.
| Trade #1 pick (3000 points) for: | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #2 (2600) #50 (400) |
#3 (2200) #21 (800) |
#4 (1800) #12 (1200) |
#5 (1700) #10 (1300) |
#6 (1600) #8 (1400) |
|
| 2016 Draft: #1 pick – Jared Goff | |||||
| Carson Wentz (QB) Nick Martin (C) |
Joey Bosa (DE) Will Fuller (WR) |
*Ezekial Elliott (RB) Sheldon Rankins (DT) |
Jalen Ramsey (CB) Eli Apple (CB) |
Ronnie Stanley (OT) Jack Conklin (OT) |
|
| 2015 Draft: #1 pick – *Jameis Winston | Marcus Mariota (QB) Ronald Darby (CB) |
Dante Fowler (DE) Cedric Ogbuehi (OT) |
*Amari Cooper (WR) Danny Shelton (DT) |
*Brandon Scherff (OT) *Todd Gurley (RB) |
*Leonard Williams (DE) *Vic Beasley (OLB) |
| 2014 Draft: #1 pick – *Jadeveon Clowney | |||||
| Greg Robinson (OT) Jeremiah Attaochu (LB) |
Blake Bortles (QB) *Ha Ha Clinton-Dix (S) |
Sammy Watkins (WR) *Odell Beckham, Jr (WR) |
*Khalil Mack (LB) Eric Ebron (TE) |
Jake Matthews (OT) Justin Gilbert (CB) |
|
| 2013 Draft: #1 pick – Eric Fisher | |||||
| Luke Joeckel (OT) Jonathan Bostic (LB) |
Dion Jordan (DE) *Tyler Eifert (TE) |
Lane Johnson (OT) D. J. Hayden (CB) |
*Ezekiel Ansah (DT) Chance Warmack (G) |
Barkevious Mingo (DE) Tavon Austin (WR) |
|
I realize that teams rarely possess two high first-round draft picks, and thus that the table above is purely theoretical, but it gives an idea of how out-of-whack the valuation on the top pick actually is. In the past four drafts, the results of making the hypothetical trade would have been:
- great: 3 times
- good: 5 times
- about even: 9 times
- poor: 0 times
- terrible: 3 times
There are exceptions – in 2012 everyone in the world agreed that it would be insane to pass on Andrew Luck – but this draft doesn’t have a can’t-miss quarterback, so if someone offered a deal I’d look at the numbers above and almost certainly make the trade, rather than risking everything on the hope that Myles Garrett won’t be the next Courtney Brown.