The Dallas Cowboys weren’t shy in being aggressive in their attempt to move up in Round 1 of last month’s NFL Draft. Before moving from their original No. 12 overall spot in the draft via trade with the Miami Dolphins, the Cowboys made an offer to the Cleveland Browns to land in the No. 9 spot, the ESPN documentary “The Pick Is In” revealed.
The Browns mulled it over before declining the offer, which included the Cowboys also asking for the No. 24 overall pick in exchange for picks Nos. 12 and 20, and a fifth-rounder.
General manager Andrew Berry and the Browns ultimately stuck with their first-round selections — after moving down from No. 6 to No. 9 in a deal with the Kansas City Chiefs — and selected Utah offensive lineman Spencer Fano and Texas A&M wideout KC Concepcion.
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Yahoo Sports senior NFL reporter Jori Epstein described the scene leading up to Fano’s selection as Browns national scout Zach Ayers stumped for the Utah offensive lineman:
From the two rows of scouts’ chairs near the entrance to the draft room, Ayers begins to explain why he designated the Utah offensive tackle an “orange dot,” which in Browns scouting parlance means Fano has elite character and makeup.
“We’re getting the best tackle in this entire draft,” Ayers says. “This kid’s rare combination of athleticism, quickness, strength, and his ability to excel on pass protection, is truly something special. He’s an excellent run blocker. He’s gritty, he’s tough, he’s rangy. And the most important thing: This is the best person in the entire draft. This is one of the highest-character guys I’ve done in the 10 years I’ve been on the road. And whatever goal or expectation we have of Spencer as a person, his goals and expectations are going to be higher than ours.
“This guy fits us beautifully.”
Despite the trade refusal, it appears the Cowboys landed their man in Ohio State safety Caleb Downs. Dallas traded with Miami to the 11th overall spot, where they selected Downs. It also eventually dealt pick No. 20 to Philadelphia, who outmaneuvered Pittsburgh to land USC wideout Makai Lemon. “The Pick Is In” took viewers behind the scenes in that dramatic move:
Sticking with the Concepcion selection earned the Browns some kudos from other teams. Epstein reported:
Before the Seahawks draft running back Jadarian Price to end the round, an NFC general manager texts Berry: “We were trying to move up for KC. Good pick.” And [director of player personnel Adam] Al-Khayyal receives a message from an AFC team saying that “if they’d traded back, they would have taken KC.”
The documentary’s insight provides fans potential receipts to show off years from now when judging the powerbrokers’ decisions on draft night.
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