Cleveland Browns would be wise to trade No. 2 pick

The Cleveland Browns are a rebuilding team. They need more than just a quarterback, and trading the No. 2 pick in the draft to accumulate more assets would be incredibly beneficial.

This just in: The Cleveland Browns are in rebuilding mode – per usual.

I kid, but if I could be serious for a minute, the Browns are in full blow-up, weather-the-storm-, rebuild, Moneyball mode.

They got rid of offensive-line stalwart Alex Mack, cut ties with Donte Whitner and trimmed some fat by releasing troubled Johnny Manziel. They also brought in former Offensive Rookie of the Year Robert Griffin III to play quarterback, which is a low-risk, high-reward move.

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This is a team that may not win more than two — ESPN team writers projected win totals for their respective teams, and Pat McManamon, who covers the Browns, had the Browns winning one game. Yikes –games, and a rookie quarterback likely won’t change that. There’s a lot of speculation circulating the Browns and whether they’ll draft a quarterback with the second-overall pick. However, I still think Cleveland would be better off not taking a quarterback with the No. 2 pick.

That idea is doubly true if the Rams decide Goff is the guy they want. I say that because I think Goff is a lot more polished than the other top prospect Carson Wentz. Goff has the capability to come in and start, whereas Wentz, despite being an athletic marvel, may still be somewhat of a project.

Related Story: 30 biggest draft busts of all-time

When thinking about Cleveland drafting another first-round quarterback, I continuously find myself referring upon NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah’s words.

"“…To me, for whatever young quarterback comes into this Cleveland Browns team, what do you have in place to make them successful? How is that going to work out? To me, they have to get a veteran, because either one of these two young quarterbacks in (Jared) Goff and (Carson) Wentz, if you just throw them into the fire with what’s around them currently in Cleveland, they will fail.”"

With quarterback-needy teams starting to sweat with the Los Angeles Rams moving up from No. 15 to No. 1, the Browns are in prime position to orchestrate a magnificent trade. The Rams gave up a king’s ransom for the top pick, surrendering a slew of picks.

Cleveland needs to get more assets than just a quarterback to succeed. I’m not great at predicting trades, so I’m not entirely sure how much Cleveland would get for No. 2, but it would certainly be a lot. In 2012, the Rams received three first-round picks so Washington could trade up to nab Robert Griffin III. Obviously, that trade value was inflated, as the Titans only received two first-round picks in this year’s draft.

Still, Cleveland would be incredibly wise to forgo taking the risky route, and instead opt to build with depth.

I mean, if the Browns do, in fact, decide to keep the No. 2 pick and draft a quarterback, what will that QB have to work with?

The perpetually troubled Josh Gordon may not play for a second consecutive year. Travis Benjamin skipped town for San Diego. Dwayne Bowe was cut. 30-year-old Gary Barnidge enjoyed a breakout year in 2015, but it may prove to be a fluke. The running back situation is a mess, with only Duke Johnson Jr. a true threat.

The two lead receivers — at this point in time — are Brian Hartline and Andrew Hawkins. What I’m trying to say is that this team needs a lot of work. An entire facelift, so to speak. I mean, if you’re trying to fix up a run-down house, a simple new coat of paint isn’t going to fix the entire thing. Metaphors aside, one player isn’t going to save this franchise.

The only way taking a quarterback in the first round would make any modicum of sense to me would be if Cleveland is truly content with letting that rookie stand on the sideline and watch RG3 man the show. Still, the Browns would be much better off taking the safe route by falling back in the draft by accumulating more picks.

Trading back would give them more options to work with, which in turn, would give them more chances to make the subpar roster better.

A few teams come to mind when thinking of who Cleveland could deal the No. 2 pick to. San Francisco would make sense, but the 49ers seem to have a liking for Michigan State’s Connor Cook, who projects to be around until the second round.

The Philadelphia Eagles are another team that could trade up, as they remain noncommittal to both Sam Bradford and Chase Daniel. I think Philly would be the team more likely to trade up, and that would send Cleveland back to the No. 8 overall pick.

Furthermore, the Eagles would likely give up a slew of picks, almost certainly including their second-rounder this year. Picking at the No. 8 spot, Cleveland would have a chance to nab a talented pass-rusher, or even home-state Ezekiel Elliott.

More nfl spin zone: 2016 NFL Mock Draft: Complete first round

Have you ever seen the movie “Draft Day”? Well, if you haven’t, it — coincidentally enough — involves Kevin Costner playing the fictitious general manager of the Browns. Basically, the GM orchestrates draft day magic to instill some hope — yes, hope — in the Cleveland Browns franchise.

The Browns have a chance to pull some sleight-of-hand and make keeping the No. 2 pick the worst-case scenario.

Side note:

If the Browns keep the No. 2 pick, I still don’t think taking a quarterback is the way to go. They will start, they will play and they will fail. With that being said, I think the Browns — the most unstable franchise in the NFL — need to draft the safest player. At No. 2, that player would likely be Jalen Ramsey or Joey Bosa. For the record, Bosa would be my pick.