It started with a whisper…
When ESPN Eagles beat writer Tim McManus said on a local Philadelphia radio show that the team was interested in trading away 2019 first-round offensive tackle Andre Dillard, the whispers quickly grew quite loud in Cleveland.
Why?
Browns GM Andrew Berry was with the Eagles in 2019 and part of the personnel evaluation group that selected Dillard. Berry wasn’t the GM, but as the VP of football operations, he was intimately involved in the scouting and decision-making process.
Then there’s the fit with the Browns. Dillard is a schematic match for what the Browns figure to run under coach Kevin Stefanski, a scheme that requires mobility and technique more than brawn. He showed some positive ability in limited duty as a rookie, starting four games for a playoff-bound Eagles team.
The Eagles appear intent on bringing back longtime fixture Jason Peters at left tackle, and the reports indicate they are interested in using Dillard as a sweetener to entice another team to take overpaid WR Alshon Jeffery off their hands. The Browns would have a use for Jeffery too, so on that front a potential deal makes even more sense.