Don’t be surprised if Browns trade back into first round for left tackle

The Browns front office won’t spend too long patting each other on the back after picking Nos. 1 and 4 in the first round of the draft on April 26 because General Manager John Dorsey will still have seven more picks to spend — three of them in the second round on April 27.

The beauty of having picks 33, 35 and 64 is Dorsey can stand pat, or he can package two picks to move back into the first round. That seems more likely than him trading down from the fourth pick.

“I like having the first pick of Day Two, but that is not to say I wouldn’t try to package something together if I felt that I could go up and get a player that would help this team,” Dorsey said in a news conference last week. “I’m going to keep my options wide open, and determine the player versus the trade options.”

A year ago, with Sashi Brown in charge, the Browns traded picks 33 and 104 to Green Bay to move back into the first round and select tight end David Njoku 29th.

Dorsey could move somewhere in the range of the 20th overall draft slot by packaging picks 33 and 64, according to the draft value chart teams use to calculate a numerical worth of each draft pick.

The Browns are expected to use the first pick on a quarterback and the fourth pick on running back Saquon Barkley, defensive end Bradley Chubb, safety Minkah Fitzpatrick or cornerback Denzel Ward if they do not trade the pick.

Taking a quarterback and then either Fitzpatrick or Ward immediately makes left tackle the Browns most pressing need. The plan for now is to have Shon Coleman start at left tackle, but is Dorsey going to trust a player he didn’t draft to protect the blind side of the quarterback he makes the first pick of his first draft with the Browns, or the blind side of anointed starter Tyrod Taylor? Probably not.

Of course, whether Dorsey would try to move back into the first round depends on which players remain on the board. Barring trades, the Lions pick 20th, the Bengals 21st, the Bills 22nd, the Patriots 23rd and the Panthers 24th.

The Bengals aren’t likely to help the Browns. The Bills and Patriots reportedly are trying to move up into the top five to take a quarterback and could go after the Browns fourth pick. The Browns should have their choice of left tackles if they trade with the Bills, who currently pick 12th and 22nd in the first round.

The Cowboys at 19 aren’t likely to listen ­— unless the Browns offer wide receiver Corey Coleman in place of the 64th pick — because Dallas is looking for a wide receiver after cutting Dez Bryant.

Mike McGlinchey of Notre Dame and Kolton Miller of UCLA are regarded as the best in a draft class not deep at left tackle, which means it might require moving up to get one.

The early part of the second round is where Dorsey could target a running back if he doesn’t draft Barkley in the first round. Remember, Dorsey hit the jackpot last year as general manager of the Kansas City Chiefs when he drafted Kareem Hunt in the third round. Hunt, from Willoughby South High School and the University of Toledo, was the sixth running back drafted last year. He led the league with 1,327 rushing yards and was voted Rookie of the Year by the Pro Football Writers of America.

USC running back Ronald Jones could be on the board when the second day of the draft begins.

Dorsey might decide to trade up for an edge rusher, rather than a left tackle, if he doesn’t draft Chubb with the fourth pick. Along with Chubb, Marcus Davenport of Texas-San Antonio, Harold Landry of Boston College and Leighton Vander Esch of Boise State are expected to be drafted in the first round.

Don’t assume the Browns are done for the night and turn off the television if they make a selection with the fourth pick of Round 1.