NFL draft thoughts (Round 1)

Takeaways from Thursday night's opening round of the National Football League college draft in Las Vegas in no particular order . . . 

The Browns were quiet all evening. General Manager Andrew Berry punted on the opportunity to move up simply because he had nothing with which to intelligently negotiate. It was like arriving at a gunfight with nothing chambered in the gun and an empty belt.

It probably will be that way again in the opening round of the next two drafts. It was an extremely high price the Browns paid to sign their franchise quarterback, on whose shoulders now rests the pressure to justify what it cost the club to get him to Cleveland.

If there was any movement by the GM during the evening, it was not spotted by the media, which generally is well connected to most goings-on in the NFL. It was all quiet on the Cleveland front. All Berry could do, it is assumed, was watch the proceedings unfold like the rest of us.

About the only thing he could do to keep busy was keep track of who remained on the board and plan for his three cracks in rounds two and three Friday evening. There are still some solid players remaining for picks 44, 78 and 99. Assuming, that is, he doesn't catch the trade fever that gripped fellow GMs Thursday.

Among them are wide receivers Christian Watson, John Metchie III, George Pickens, Alec Pierce and Skyy Moore; defensive ends Boye Mafe, David Ojabo, Drake Jackson, Sam Williams and Arnold Ebiketie; defensive tackles Travis Jones, Perrion Winfrey, DeMarvin Leal and Logan Hall; tight ends Trey McBride and Jeremy Ruckert; and cornerbacks Andrew Booth Jr. and Kyler Gordon. . . .

The bizarre evening started  predictably with the first 10 selections. Then after Ohio State wide receivers Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave went back-to-back, all hell broke loose with 14 teams completing a dizzying nine trades in the following 22 rounds. 

At one point midway through the round, trades interrupted the flow four times in five picks, suggesting  the lottery was not falling the way teams believed it would. The uncertainty definitely changed the landscape and prompted clubs to make moves more suddenly than anticipated.

If nothing else, it kept television viewers and those covering the event on their toes as the deals came with unexpected speed. The Philadelphia Eagles and Baltimore Ravens had the most fun with two swaps each. The Ravens wisely sat still with their original 14th pick and took safety Kyle Hamilton, who was projected to go much higher, then landed center Tyler Linderbaum with one of the deals. . . . 

Speculation leading up to the draft indicated Pittsburgh would definitely take Liberty quarterback Malik Willis at 20. Should have known the Steelers were smarter than that. Taking Kenny Pickett from hometown University of Pittsburgh to succeed Ben Roethlisberger was a solid move.

Prediction time: Pickett, who has been schooled in the pro-style game for a few years, will make Mitch Trubisky, thought to be a bridge quarterback until Roethlisberger's successor arrives, a backup this season because the successor has arrived. . . . 

Two surprising selections by a couple of teams needing quarterbacks most likely will revive the Baker Mayfield saga with regard to where he will land this season. The Carolina Panthers and Seattle Seahawks, early favorites to be in the hunt, shied away from taking a quarterback, which could lead to reasoned speculation there might be more interest in separating Mayfield from the Browns sooner rather than later.

Trying to put two and two together here: Don't rule out the possibility the Detroit Lions might enter the picture. Former Browns General Manager John Dorsey, who drafted Mayfield four years ago, now works in the Lions' front office. Consider this a shot in the dark. . . . 

In the surprise department, two high profile wide receivers with the surname Brown were dealt. More than a few eyebrows were raised when Tennessee shipped A.J. Brown to Philadelphia and the Ravens sent Marquise Brown to the Arizona Cardinals. . . . For the first time since 2013, no running backs were selected in the opening round. . . . Eighteen of the picks play on the defensive side of the football, including five from national champion Georgia. . . . As expected, six members of the very strong wide receiver class were taken. . . . Eight teams wound up with multiple picks, the New York Jets leading the way with three selections. . . . The Browns were one of seven teams that don't leap into the draft until Friday night. . .  . The draft normally takes somewhere around four hours to complete. Despite all the deals, this one was finished in a relatively brisk three hours and 26 minutes.