Instead of enjoying their final days of relative relaxation before the madness begins with the 2017 regular season next week, the Cleveland Browns are busy wheeling and dealing. On Wednesday, just hours after they cut two-time Pro Bowl cornerback Joe Haden, they traded their former first-round pick, offensive lineman Cameron Erving, to the Chiefs in exchange for a fifth-round pick.
We have traded OL Cam Erving to KC for a 2018 5th round pick.
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) August 30, 2017
Erving was the 19th overall pick in 2015, but he never turned into a starting-caliber lineman in the NFL. That's why this is a heck of a trade by the current Browns "Moneyball" regime, which didn't have a hand in selecting Erving in the first place. Somehow, they turned Erving into a fifth-round pick.
That's great value for a player whose highlight reel looks something like this:
Celebrate the Cam Erving trade by sending any chiefs fan you know the perfect Cam Gif @OwenOnTheBoard this one's for you pic.twitter.com/QEA75lihdz
— Nicholas Wilson (@NickWilson923) August 30, 2017
Look at how many draft picks they own!
Browns' current 2018 picks:
— Chris Burke (@ChrisBurke_SI) August 30, 2017
Rd 1
Rd 1 (HOU)
Rd 2
Rd 2 (HOU)
Rd 2 (PHI)
Rd 3
Rd 4
Rd 4 (CAR)
Rd 5
Rd 5 (KC)
Rd 6
Rd 6 (PIT)
Rd 7
Live look at Browns' headquarters:
Of course, it's also worth noting that the only reason the Browns find themselves in this current predicament -- where a stockpile of draft picks is the only thing that can save them from perpetual ineptitude -- is the previous regime's horrible drafting. The current regime will need to do better with all of those picks:
Danny Shelton is the only Browns 1st round pick left on the roster from the 2009-2015 @NFL Drafts.
— Andrew Siciliano (@AndrewSiciliano) August 30, 2017
Kansas City, on the other hand, is clearly going in an opposite direction. The Chiefs are trying to win big immediately. At least, that's what their trade behavior in the past few months indicates. In the draft, they sent a 2018 first-round pick to the Bills for the right to select Patrick Mahomes. On Monday, they gave the Bills a 2019 fourth-round pick for Reggie Ragland. On Wednesday, they surrendered a fifth rounder for Erving.
The Chiefs must believe they can unlock something in Erving (and Ragland) that the Browns couldn't during the past two seasons. Unfortunately, if they're wrong about those players, they lack the necessary ammunition to build through the draft.
A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that the Chiefs traded for Kenneth Acker this summer. As a Twitter user pointed out, that trade happened last summer.