Browns trade 3 picks to move up to No. 3
Based on my mock draft updates, I have thought for a while that Alabama running back Trent Richardson would end up as a Cleveland Brown.
[So did Brendan Donahue, for that matter.]
That said, both of us thought it would be with the fourth overall pick in this year's NFL draft. Instead it will (or is assumed to) be with the third overall pick.
The Browns have moved up a spot and will send a fourth-, fifth- and seventh-round pick to the Vikings in order to do so.
Richardson, the Doak Walker recipient, has a rare combination of strength, size and speed to be able to take the pounding as an every-down back in the league. As the starter at Alabama last year, Richardson helped lead the team to the national championship and rushed for 1,679 yards and 21 touchdowns.
While the position of running back has become more and more devalued, Richardson is considered to be the best running back prospect since Minnesota's Adrian Peterson.
Considering the Vikings have Peterson, they will have their choice of the same players they would have debated at No. 3 yet they get three extra picks.
In a division like the AFC North, the Browns get a physical rusher that will have to face the Ravens and Steelers four times per season.
In other words, it's a win-win move.
