ESPN's NFL Draft documentary reveals Cowboys made first-round trade offer to Browns

The Dallas Cowboys weren’t shy in being aggressive in their attempt to move up in Round 1 of last month’s NFL Draft. Before moving from their original No. 12 overall spot in the draft via trade with the Miami Dolphins, the Cowboys made an offer to the Cleveland Browns to land in the No. 9 spot, the ESPN documentary “The Pick Is In” revealed.

The Browns mulled it over before declining the offer, which included the Cowboys also asking for the No. 24 overall pick in exchange for picks Nos. 12 and 20, and a fifth-rounder.

General manager Andrew Berry and the Browns ultimately stuck with their first-round selections — after moving down from No. 6 to No. 9 in a deal with the Kansas City Chiefs — and selected Utah offensive lineman Spencer Fano and Texas A&M wideout KC Concepcion.

Yahoo Sports senior NFL reporter Jori Epstein described the scene leading up to Fano’s selection as Browns national scout Zach Ayers stumped for the Utah offensive lineman:

From the two rows of scouts’ chairs near the entrance to the draft room, Ayers begins to explain why he designated the Utah offensive tackle an “orange dot,” which in Browns scouting parlance means Fano has elite character and makeup.

“We’re getting the best tackle in this entire draft,” Ayers says. “This kid's rare combination of athleticism, quickness, strength, and his ability to excel on pass protection, is truly something special. He's an excellent run blocker. He's gritty, he's tough, he’s rangy. And the most important thing: This is the best person in the entire draft. This is one of the highest-character guys I've done in the 10 years I've been on the road. And whatever goal or expectation we have of Spencer as a person, his goals and expectations are going to be higher than ours.