Brett Veach is already quite comfortable trading away some of the most premium assets at his disposal. If a new proposal is accepted at this year's Annual League Meeting, Veach will have even more to work with.
Every spring, the NFL's owners gather together for a state-of-the-league address from Roger Goodell, updates on international initiatives, and votes on various rule proposals, among other things. This year, a proposal is on the table from the Cleveland Browns that would extend the window for trading future draft picks.
Under current league rules, picks more than three years out cannot be traded. Cleveland wants to move that up to five, which stretches things to look more like the NBA (which allows for seven years). That would mean teams would be able to trade picks into 2031. Cleveland's reasoning is straightforward: If teams already plan five years out, why can't they trade that way?
The NFL is likely never going to allow Cleveland's proposal because of Cleveland.
On the surface, it makes sense. If a team is ripping the organization down to the studs, it take a while to resurface. Just think of how long it will take the Miami Dolphins to climb out of the salary cap hell created by Chris Grier and company, as one example. If it requires the first year or two of a general manager's stint to even reach the surface from dead cap money and toxic decisions, then any hope of contending remains farther out than that. Having the ability to acquire draft assets down the road, in that instance, makes sense.
That said, desperate teams would be able to take more desperate measures if such a proposal were to be passed. The Cleveland Browns are already the model for ineptitude in the NFL, and even restructured Deshaun Watson's contract this offseason to push his enormous cap hit even further down the road. It's like they refuse to own their (bad) decisions. Imagine giving them two more years to ruin in the future.
Speaking of the Browns, the fact that it's Cleveland that submitted the proposal is incredibly rich. Remember, the NBA allows teams to deal draft choices seven years in advance, but the league also realized just how toxic things can be. That's why it added a wrinkle to that rule, known as the Stepien Rule, which keeps franchises from trading first-round picks in back-to-back draft classes. That's in direct response to the Cleveland Cavaliers, whose former owner, Ted Stepien, once dealt five years worth of first-round picks away for instant help and failed to acquire any single player of note. In fact, the NBA decided to step in and approve any future trades by Stepien for a spell.
That Cleveland, which is the league's most dysfunctional franchise, is asking for even more leeway to ruin its future is bizarre. It's also fitting. That's why it's hard to believe the NFL would ever agree to such measures, at least for now, knowing how easily a team could sink its own ship if they allow desperate men to get what they want. Five years of draft pick access might sound fun for a savvy general manager like Brett Veach, but Cleveland is why we can't have nice things.