Raiders or Browns: Who made a bigger splash ?

Raiders or Browns: Who made a bigger splash ?

    Question: How do you keep football fans engaged during the offseason? Answer: Trade two of the top players in the game to different teams, that’s how. In case you haven’t heard, Antonio Brown was traded to the Raiders from Pittsburgh, Odell Beckham Jr. was traded from the Giants to the Cleveland Browns, and Bruce Willis was a ghost the whole time in the sixth sense. Now that we’re all up to speed, let’s see who made the bigger splash so far, starting with the Oakland Raiders.

    Aside from stealing the best wide receiver in the game away from (the ironically named) Steelers, the Raiders also signed Trent Brown to sure up their offensive line and Lamarcus Joyner who was one win away from a Super Bowl title with the L.A. Rams last year. While these are the known entities that the Raiders have procured this offseason, they still have a shot at re-signing free agents that had the option to leave their team after the season. The biggest opportunity for the Raiders to improve on their already significant offseason is through the draft, where they hold three first-round selections. Using these picks to immediately fill holes throughout their roster could turn the Raiders into contenders this season. So while it is almost impossible not to improve on their abysmal 2018 season, the Raiders front office has done a great job of giving the team a head start on the new season. Now let’s look at the Browns.

    With Baker Mayfield coming into his second year, and growing expectations for the team to make the playoffs this season, the front office in Cleveland needed to do something big to keep the fans on board with the direction their team is going; and something big they did. The Browns went out and got OBJ, a definite top five receiver in the league, traded morals for talent by signing Kareem Hunt, and signed Greg Robinson and Sheldon Richardson to helm their offensive and defensive lines respectively. Unlike the Raiders, the Browns don’t have a first round pick to work with; however, even if they did, it was in the back half anyway. With the addition of Beckham Jr. and Hunt, the Browns will be the most exciting thing in Cleveland since the star of Space Jam 2 first-round left town.

    In conclusion, both the Raiders and Browns have had a strong offseason. With the Browns additions already cemented into their roster, it is safe to say that they made a huge splash this year. The Raiders also made a lot of noise with their additions, however, they have the potential to make a lot more with their three first round picks. Maybe we can check back in on these two teams after the draft.

-By: Nick Selko