The Cleveland Browns are expected to use the No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 NFL draft on Texas A&M’s Myles Garrett, but every slot after is far less certain.
Starting at No. 2, there could be a handful of teams hoping to move back in this year’s extremely deep draft, hoping to take advantage by acquiring additional picks in the middle rounds.
The San Francisco 49ers currently own that second pick. They, along with the Chicago Bears (No. 3 overall) and New York Jets (No. 6 overall) are the teams picking in the top 10 that are most interested in moving back, per Peter King of MMQB.
King also notes the Browns as the team most likely to try and move up into that range, as they currently hold an additional first-rounder at No. 12, along with a truckload of other premium picks:
Cleveland at 12, if the Browns take Garrett number one (most likely scenario) and want to use their treasure trove of picks (12, 33, 52, 65, 108 this year, with a first- and three second-round picks next year) to move up from 12 to, say, 2, to ensure getting the quarterback they want. Spitballing only: But Cleveland from 12 to two makes a lot of sense. This would allow the Niners to still get a good player at 12 (Solomon Thomas? Christian McCaffrey? Mike Williams?), as well as Cleveland’s one next year and at least one other prominent pick.
All of this makes plenty of sense. There’s a decent gap between Garrett and the field, and little separating the next 10-15 players in this class. If any of those three teams can entice another club to move up and part with another early selection or two, it would be a wise move.
