Cleveland Browns GM Ray Farmer took some heat from the media, and Browns fans, over the weekend for not electing to take Sammy Watkins with the fourth overall pick, instead trading it to Buffalo and moving back to ninth overall where they took Oklahoma State CB Justin Gilbert. Farmer addressed the decision with MMQB’s Peter King revealing that they had Watkins name ready to go on their card.
Here’s the excerpt from King’s Monday Morning QB column.
• About passing on Sammy Watkins and all those receivers … Farmer told me that before the Browns made the trade with Buffalo to move from fourth to ninth in the first round, “We were very close to turning in the card. We very easily could have turned in the card with Sammy’s name on it.” I wondered if he would have regrets about passing on him and taking cornerback Justin Gilbert if Watkins turned into a Randy Moss-type talent. “Even if Sammy turns into Randy Moss, Justin Gilbert can be every bit as good as Patrick Peterson. That’s how much talent he has. And in the game today, I feel cornerbacks are as important as wide receivers, and maybe harder to find. So I have no regrets about it, no.”
Both teams will get the chance to see their top picks potentially go head to head at times in Week 13 when the Browns come to Buffalo to face the Bills.
