Should we alert the Warren Commission? If there was ever an inside job, how about Eric Mangini's trading the No. 5 overall pick back to the organization that fired him just a few months ago? The Jets have traded up to Cleveland's spot at No. 5 and have taken Mark Sanchez of USC. So much for all the confidence in the world that new Jets head man Rex Ryan had in Kellen Clemens and/or Brett Ratliff. In fact, Ratliff was part of this deal: He goes to Cleveland, along with safety Abram Elam and defensive end Kenyon Coleman (and the 17th and 57th overall picks).
Now Sanchez enters the debate about who should start in Week 1 for Gang Green. You can't hand him the job outright to begin the year; after all, he started one season in college. But you'd better believe that the Jets will give Sanchez every opportunity to win the job. If he looks decent, he'll get the gig. If not, it'll be Clemens. We know the Jets will be paying Sanchez like a starter, so you'd have to figure that he'll get a chance. From a fantasy perspective, you probably shouldn't view any of these guys as starting material for your team, because Jerricho Cotchery is the only real wideout they've got at this point. But it sure is exciting.
It's also noteworthy that in making this move, the Browns passed on Michael Crabtree. Does that mean they won't be trading Braylon Edwards? We shall see.