The Atlanta Falcons were looking to add another Pro Bowl receiver next to Roddy White on draft night in 2011.
The issue was, they were coming off a good season that landed them the No. 27 pick, a pick that was a bit too late to add the caliber of player they wanted.
So, then-General Manager Thomas Dimitroff started working the phone to try and trade up. He ultimately agreed with the Cleveland Browns on a deal that landed the Falcons the No. 6 pick, which was then used on Julio Jones.
Meanwhile, the Browns landed a haul of picks that they would end up wasting, setting back their franchise another decade.
How the Falcons robbed the Browns in the 2011 NFL Draft
If you watched a lot of football in the 2010s then you know the impact Julio Jones had on the league.
The Alabama product tortured opposing defenses on his way to becoming the Falcons' career leader in basically every receiving stat.
While the Dirty Birds traded a lot of picks to draft him, they watched as the Browns wasted every single pick and set their franchise back countless years.
The Browns started the debacle by trading up from the No. 27 pick to No. 21 to draft interior defensive lineman Phil Taylor.
They also took wide receiver Greg Little and running back Owen Marecic with the two other picks in 2011.
In the following draft, they used a pick acquired from Atlanta to trade up one spot for running back Trent Richardson No. 3 overall, and used the other first-round pick on quarterback Brandon Weeden No. 22 overall.
The Browns went on to get this production from those five players (counting Richardson, who is only loosely related to the trade):
- 156 games
- 12 seasons (+2 gms)
- 438 completions
- 5,116 pass yds
- 23 pass TDs
- 26 pass INTs
- 218 receptions
- 302 rushes
- 3,509 yds from scrimmage
- 20 rec/rush TDs
- 7 sacks
- 109 tackles
- 15 TFLs
- 3 pass defensed
- 1 forced fumble
- 1 fumble recovery
Meanwhile, here were Julio Jones' stats with the Falcons:
- 165 games
- 10 seasons
- 848 receptions
- 19 rushes
- 13,014 yds from scrimmage
- 60 rec/rush TDs
- 20 tackles
- 1 interception
That is quite the difference...
Honestly, it is impressive that Cleveland could screw up that many picks as badly as they did.
Not only were they unproductive, but they hardly lasted; Marecic played two NFL seasons, Taylor and Little played four, Richardson played five, and Weeden played six (keep in mind, we are talking seasons with any team, not just the Browns).
Julio, on the other hand, just retired after a 13-year career.
This trade had many residual effects on the Browns. Not only did they pass up a future Hall of Famer, but they wasted picks on players who they hoped would develop into franchise players, which then discouraged them from addressing those positions for years.
Safe to say, the Atlanta Falcons won this trade...