The Cleveland Browns don’t only have their sights set on the upcoming 2026 NFL Draft. They are also looking well beyond that, and one of their ideas could have an impact on the entire league.
As of now, NFL teams are limited in trading draft picks to three years in advance. The Browns reportedly would like to extend that limit.
According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, the Browns have proposed an NFL rule change about trading draft picks, pushing the limit to five seasons in the future.
“Per a source with knowledge of the situation, the Browns have proposed an amendment to Article XVI, Section 16.6 of the NFL Constitution & Bylaws ‘to allow draft selections to be traded up to five (5) seasons in the future.’ The current limit (which isn’t articulated in the Constitution & Bylaws) is three years. Cleveland’s proposal would require 24 votes to pass. The subject will be discussed and possibly voted on in March. It also could be tabled until the May meetings,” Florio wrote.
It is unclear what the benefit of this would be. Florio makes the point that a team should be able to do whatever it wants with its draft picks and raises the possibility of even a longer outward limit.
That could enable teams to address more immediate needs by trading away far-off picks in an effort to move up for a player right away. However, because of the rapidly changing nature of the NFL and the fact that a team can go from out of the playoffs to the Super Bowl in just one season, it would be much more difficult for teams to plan ahead.
For example, at the 2025 NFL Draft, the Browns traded down from the No. 2 pick to the Jacksonville Jaguars, who sent Cleveland a 2026 first-round pick in return. That choice was thought to be valuable, as the Jaguars had missed the playoffs the prior two seasons and were so bad in 2024 that they wound up with the No. 5 overall pick, which they also traded to the Browns.
However, Jacksonville surprised almost everyone by easily winning the AFC South. So, the Browns wound up with the No. 24 overall pick in this year’s draft when they probably expected it to be much higher than that.
Now, imagine making deals like that five years ahead of time. The NBA allows draft-pick trades seven years in advance, and at times, it becomes a punchline with the moves made in that league.
So, maybe the Browns are on to something, or perhaps other teams will vote to leave well enough alone.
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