Cleveland Browns general manager John Dorsey has a decision to make either before or during the NFL Draft. Should he trade running back Duke Johnson or not?
Johnson is the topic of conversation with a week until the draft kicks off on April 25. The future of the fifth year running back headlined Dorsey’s draft preview press conference in Berea.
GM John Dorsey at the podium previewing #BrownsDraft https://t.co/b3byHgH1fj
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) April 18, 2019
“I continually keep telling you all that Duke is a very talented football player,” Dorsey said. “We see a lot of stuff for Duke moving forward into the future with regards to him. He is a member of this organization moving forward.”
Johnson’s future in the brown and orange is in doubt. Dorsey signed free agent running back Kareem Hunt in February despite being on the commissioner’s exempt list at that time. Hunt is suspended for the first eight games of the 2019 season. The opportunity for touches is there in the short term, but once Hunt returns on November 10 who knows what’s in store for Johnson.
Dorsey, Johnson and Duke’s representatives have been in contact with one another despite Johnson’s absence from the voluntary workout program.
“He understands the role that he is going to play within this offense,” Dorsey said. “That is what is important because Duke, as everybody knows, is a very talented playmaker, and I look forward to seeing him on the field on Sundays.”
As it stands, we'll enter the #NFLDraft without a first-round pick
Could GM John Dorsey trade back into the first? 🤔
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— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) April 18, 2019
Dorsey hopes Johnson will be at the team’s headquarters when he is required too. That’s assuming a trade involving Duke does not take place. It’s been reported that Dorsey is trying to trade back into the first round of Thursday’s NFL Draft. The Browns lost their first round pick, number 17 overall, in the Odell Beckham trade.
#BrownsMailbag: Throwing darts at what we might do with the 49th pick
📬 » https://t.co/ZnBdrEUDnc pic.twitter.com/dZDDI4g0C2
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) April 18, 2019
Cleveland won’t be on the clock until pick number 49 in the second round. It will take a lot to jump back into round one where the Browns are currently positioned. Perhaps including Johnson in a package deal is what Dorsey will have to do to acquire a first round pick.
“I think what you have to do is you have to wait and see how that moment unfolds,”Dorsey said. “You always attempt to better yourself by getting good football players. We will play those scenarios.”
Scott Piker is the Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Cavaliers and Cleveland Indians Managing Editor for Full Press Coverage.com. So follow him on twitter @ScottPikerSport