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Browns VP was surprised by trade haul from Eagles

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The Cleveland Browns received a franchise-altering haul of draft picks from the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for the No. 2 overall pick in this year's draft.

The architect of the deal was Browns vice president Sashi Brown, and even he was a little taken aback by the trade package they managed to negotiate.

"We were pleased with it," Brown said Saturday, according to Mary Kay Cabot of The Cleveland Plain Dealer. "I was a little surprised we got as much as we did, but some hard negotiating and (vice president of player personnel Andrew Berry) was a big help in that, keeping me at bay and not pulling the trigger too soon.

"We were able to come away with what should be the foundation of the championship team that we're going to build."

The Browns moved down six spots, picking up two extra selections in 2016, the Eagles' first-round pick next year, and their second-round pick in 2018.

In addition to the No. 2 overall pick - which Philadelphia used to select their future franchise quarterback, Carson Wentz - the Browns sent back a single fourth-round selection in 2017.

"When we really sat down and talked with Philly, (and understood) the batch of picks they were wanting to put together, where we sit as a roster today, this was the right decision for us," Brown said. "We felt like we could still get the No. 1 wide receiver on our board (in Corey Coleman), which was coveted by us certainly in the building to support Robert (Griffin III) and what we want to do on offense and the running game that will be the engine of what we want to do on (offense)."

The Browns could of selected Wentz themselves, but with a roster in dire need of talent at nearly every position, they opted to take the safer option and take the picks that give them a chance at a successful long-term rebuild.

"We were able to position ourselves for today to address the roster," Brown said, "but also moving forward in the future to have more flexibility."

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