Browns' Top Trade Targets Entering 2021 NFL Offseason

The Cleveland Browns' 2020 season showed just how close they are to being a real threat in the AFC. The 2021 offseason should be all about securing that position. 

A lot of things went right for the Browns in 2020. They finally found a head coach who got the best out of the roster in Kevin Stefanski, Baker Mayfield moved past his issues from 2019 and the team exorcised a lot of demons with a playoff win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. 

It could be argued the team was a questionable hit from Daniel Sorenson on Rashard Higgins away from upsetting the potential Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs in the following round. 

With that in mind, general manager Andrew Berry should be heading into the offseason looking to fortify a strong roster to fill some specific needs. One way he could go about doing that is the trade market. With plenty of teams looking to shed cap or prep for a rebuild, there are a few options the team should be interested in. 

Edge Von Miller, Denver Broncos

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Cleveland has one of the most devastating pass-rushers in the league in Myles Garrett, yet they only finished 16th in sacks. That's because there is no Robin to Garrett's Batman who can strike fear in opposing offensive lines. 

Olivier Vernon played that role well at times last season. He ended the year with nine sacks, but those were all bunched together in five games. There were eight games he played in where he couldn't take the quarterback down. Then he ended the season with a ruptured Achilles, which, at 30 years old, casts doubt on what he'll be able to do next season. 

Thus, it would make sense for the Browns to look into some trade options that would give Garrett a running mate to chase quarterbacks with. His fellow Texas A&M alumnus Von Miller would make a lot of sense. 

Miller comes with risk. He missed the entire 2020 season with an ankle injury, but his upside is vast. Even in a down year in 2019 he put together 37 pressures. That's five more than Garrett had in 2020. 

The Broncos are in a position where dealing him might be best for the organization. Doing so would save them $18 million against the cap, and given they aren't likely to contend next season, it might be worth it for them to take the cap savings and the draft capital that would come with dealing him and work toward rebuilding. 

CB Marshon Lattimore, New Orleans Saints

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Few teams are set to feel the financial pinch quite like the New Orleans Saints. If a $176 million salary cap holds, they are set to be over $100 million in the red. Even if Drew Brees retires that means some expensive players are leaving the Bayou. 

One such candidate to be moved is Marshon Lattimore. The corner heads into the fifth year of his contract set to make $10.2 million but would cost the Saints nothing if they were to move him. 

Lattimore is coming off a somewhat down year. He was ranked 69th out of all the corners that PFF graded this season but volatility is to be expected at the cornerback position. He held quarterbacks to a passer rating of 79.4 in 2019 with a completion percentage of 50 percent. 

Unlike Miller, Lattimore isn't just a win-now move. He provides a lot of value as a 24-year-old who could pair with Denzel Ward to give them a young one-two punch on the outside. 

This would likely be a costly move for Cleveland. Teams don't just part with former first-round picks whom they just exercised their fifth-year option in. But the Saints are likely to make a lot of decisions they don't want to this offseason. 

The fact that Lattimore is a Cleveland native who may be enticed to stay long term as Cleveland builds a winner for the first time since coming back in 1999 doesn't hurt either. 

S Harrison Smith, Minnesota Vikings

Bruce Kluckhohn/Associated Press

Keeping right along with the theme of taking some pricey players from cash-strapped teams, it wouldn't be a bad idea for the Browns to kick the tires on Harrison Smith's availability in Minnesota. 

The Vikings aren't in quite as big a bind as the Saints, but it doesn't look good either. They are $12.1 million above the projected cap number for 2021 heading into the offseason. 

The Vikings have some options to get under the magic number in terms of restructures and cuts that would make sense. However, trading away Harrison Smith would be an option as well.

Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reported ahead of the trade deadline Smith was one of the veterans they were "very open" to moving. They didn't find any takers at that point, but the Browns may be more inclined after seeing what the defense could have done with an improved secondary. 

The Browns should be getting Grant Delpit back from injury this season, and Ronnie Harrison turned out to be a good acquisition from the Jacksonville Jaguars. However, Smith would provide a veteran presence in the safety rotation and needed depth in the secondary. 

The 32-year-old had five interceptions for the Vikings last season, three more than the highest number on the Browns roster last season. His ball-hawking instincts would be a welcome addition to a safety room that doesn't have much in the way of dependable production.