Lots of deals on June 1st, both signings (OBJ, JuJu) and trades, one as expected (A.J. Brown to Patriots). A more surprising deal had the Browns making a strong push for the top pick in next year's NFL Draft by trading away franchise pass rusher Myles Garrett.
This was a nice haul for Cleveland. They got L.A.'s first-round pick next year, second-round pick two years from now, and third-round pick three years from now. They also got Jared Verse, a first-round pick two years ago who has been to the Pro Bowl in each of his two seasons and oh yeah won Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2024. Not only is he still on his rookie deal with three more years under team control, but he's five years younger than Garrett.
Verse isn't Garrett. He totals 12 sacks his first two seasons, which is one more than Garrett had after Week 9 a year ago. For Cleveland, which has somewhat less offensive talent than the Rams, Garrett would have been wasted for the duration of his career. In Los Angeles, he could key a Super Bowl run.
It's not far-fetched to say the Rams may have looked at their last Super Bowl run and determined a difference-making pass rusher like Garrett was a key missing ingredient from the current team. When LA won it all in 2021, they had Aaron Donald, Leonard Floyd and Von Miller combining for 27 of the team's 50 sacks, more than anyone but the Steelers and Vikings. In the last four years they've averaged 41, which ranks 20th.
| TEAM SACKS, 2022-2025 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Defense | '22 | '23 | '24 | '25 | Avg |
| Denver | 36 | 42 | 63 | 68 | 52 |
| Philadelphia | 70 | 43 | 41 | 42 | 49 |
| Baltimore | 48 | 60 | 54 | 30 | 48 |
| Dallas | 54 | 46 | 52 | 35 | 47 |
| Kansas City | 55 | 57 | 39 | 35 | 47 |
| Seattle | 45 | 47 | 45 | 47 | 46 |
| Houston | 39 | 46 | 49 | 47 | 45 |
| Minnesota | 38 | 43 | 49 | 49 | 45 |
| LA Chargers | 40 | 48 | 46 | 45 | 45 |
| Cleveland | 34 | 49 | 41 | 53 | 44 |
| Tampa Bay | 45 | 48 | 46 | 37 | 44 |
| Pittsburgh | 40 | 47 | 40 | 48 | 44 |
| Indianapolis | 44 | 51 | 36 | 39 | 43 |
| Miami | 40 | 56 | 35 | 39 | 43 |
| Buffalo | 40 | 54 | 39 | 36 | 42 |
| Washington | 43 | 39 | 43 | 42 | 42 |
| New Orleans | 48 | 34 | 39 | 45 | 42 |
| Detroit | 39 | 41 | 37 | 49 | 42 |
| NY Jets | 45 | 48 | 43 | 26 | 41 |
| LA Rams | 38 | 41 | 38 | 47 | 41 |
| Green Bay | 34 | 45 | 45 | 36 | 40 |
| NY Giants | 41 | 34 | 45 | 39 | 40 |
| Tennessee | 39 | 45 | 32 | 42 | 40 |
| New England | 54 | 36 | 28 | 35 | 38 |
| Atlanta | 21 | 42 | 31 | 57 | 38 |
| San Francisco | 44 | 48 | 37 | 20 | 37 |
| Las Vegas | 27 | 46 | 38 | 37 | 37 |
| Cincinnati | 30 | 44 | 36 | 35 | 36 |
| Jacksonville | 35 | 40 | 34 | 32 | 35 |
| Arizona | 36 | 33 | 41 | 30 | 35 |
| Chicago | 20 | 30 | 40 | 35 | 31 |
| Carolina | 35 | 27 | 32 | 30 | 31 |
Pass rush isn't everything, but I do notice that three of the top 6 in this regard over the past four seasons -- Philadelphia, Kansas City, Seattle -- have won the last four Super Bowls. So it helps, getting the Rams closer to another title for the McVay-Stafford pairing.
In general, a deal that makes sense for both sides, and makes the Rams Defense more appealing in fantasy leagues, while the Browns are now distinctly less so. Cleveland shows up 10th in the table above, and won't be that high this year.
If I'm going to carp at all, it would be the Ty Simpson pick back in April. Garrett gets them closer to a Super Bowl this year or next. Simpson is a down-the-road investment. If they win another Super Bowl with Stafford and Simpson is a franchise quarterback a couple of years from now, everyone will look pretty smart. If they just miss this year, I guess they might be wondering if they could have used that pick for a more immediate contributor.
Regardless, this looks like a good deal, for both sides. As long as the Browns use all their picks the next few years to draft some offensive playmakers anyway. Including the elusive franchise quarterback.
--Andy Richardson
