The Cleveland Browns have acquired some badly needed wide receiver help.
Shortly after signing ex-Chiefs wide receiver Mecole Hardman, the New York Jets flipped Elijah Moore to the Browns in a swap of 2023 NFL Draft picks, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported on Wednesday, per sources.
The Browns will ship the 42nd overall pick (second round) to the Jets in exchange for Moore and pick No. 74 (third round), Rapoport added.
Cleveland has eight picks in this year's draft, but the 74th selection is -- for now -- its top pick. The Browns sent their first-round pick to the Texans in the Deshaun Watson deal last year. Cleveland now will have two picks each in Rounds 3, 4 and 5.
The Jets will hold steady at six selections. Following their first-round pick at No. 13 overall, they'll now select back to back in Round 2 at Nos. 42 and 43.
Moore, who turns 23 years old next week, was a second-round pick (34th overall) of the Jets in the 2021 NFL Draft. In 27 career games, he caught 80 passes for 984 yards (12.3-yard average) and six touchdowns, also rushing 10 times for 59 yards and a TD. After starting the first six games last season, Moore saw his role and usage decrease, catching 21 passes for 243 yards and one TD in his final 10 games.
The Browns will bring back Amari Cooper and Donovan Peoples-Jones as their top two receivers, but adding firepower was a big item on the offseason to-do list. Moore, who lined up inside and outside for the Jets, has only one 100-yard receiving game in his career (141 versus Miami in 2021), but averaged a shocking 149.1 receiving yards per game in his final college season at Ole Miss.
The trade also helps the Jets clear $1.47 million from their books and gain trade capital in the form of the additional second-round pick, which could help give them more flexibility in their pursuit of quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
