Did Big Trade Give Away Cleveland Browns' NFL Draft Plans?

The Cleveland Browns own the No. 2 overall pick in the NFL Draft, and while taking a quarterback seems like the obvious play, there has actually been plenty of deliberation on what the Browns will do next month.

Some have wondered if the Browns may decide to select either edge rusher Abdul Carter or wide receiver Travis Hunter, and others feel Cleveland may trade the pick.

However, a certain NFL trade that occurred on Friday may have revealed Cleveland's plans.

The Las Vegas Raiders acquired quarterback Geno Smith in a deal with the Seattle Seahawks, which seemed to uncover what the Raiders plan on doing—or not doing—with the sixth overall pick.

Las Vegas needs a quarterback every bit as much as the Browns, and it has been connected to Shedeur Sanders and Cam Ward throughout the year.

However, by acquiring Smith, the Raiders are essentially telling the world that they don't expect Sanders or Ward to be available at No. 6 or that they don't think they will be able to trade up to land one of them.

That indicates Las Vegas probably has intel that Cleveland will be selecting one of the two signal-callers. After all, given the Raiders' dire need for a quarterback, why wouldn't they attempt to trade up to No. 2 if they could? Heck, if they didn't think the Browns were taking a quarterback, then why not try to move up to No. 3?

Now, it is possible that Las Vegas is expecting the Tennessee Titans and the New York Giants to roll with some combination of Ward and Sanders at Nos. 1 and 3, respectively, but it just seems much more likely that Cleveland is planning on taking a signal-caller at No. 2.

While we have heard conflicting reports on the Browns' interest in the top two quarterbacks in this year's class, there are some who seem adamant that Cleveland will be choosing one of them, so anything that states otherwise may just be a smokescreen.

We'll find out for sure what the Browns are doing in the coming weeks, but their NFL Draft plans may be taking shape as we speak.