Cleveland Browns three-round mock draft

By: Josh Frey-Sam

I guarantee you’ve never seen a more talented team as messy as the Cleveland Browns.

Almost every part of the Browns’ roster is equipped to win now — except the quarterback.

I’m going to write about how bad the Browns’ position is right now and what kind of fresh hell they are in with Deshaun Watson at a later date. In short, the team is cap-strapped and will face the possibility of MANY key starters leaving for free agency after the 2025-26 season.

With that, this draft becomes crucial for the team to compete this season and seamlessly flip the page to the next era of Browns football next year.

Cleveland has four picks inside the top 100 (2, 33, 67 and 94) of this draft, which I look at as players with the best potential at being Day 1 starters.

I did a three-round mock that I believe will set this team up for the present and the future. Take a look:

First round (#2 overall): Unsurprisingly, Cam Ward goes #1 overall. We’re left with a lot of options. We could go quarterback, but you can never have enough blue-chip players. We go with Abdul Carter and keep an eye on an opportunity to trade back into the first round for our franchise QB.

TRADE!! First round (32nd overall): We trade the 33rd overall pick and a 6th-round pick to the Eagles and move up one spot. Why would we move up one spot? A player selected in the first round can have a fifth-year option exercised. This can provide a team with a bit more financial flexibility before it’s time to really pay them. This was a key part of the 2018 draft when the Ravens traded back into the first round to select Lamar Jackson. It’s smart business, especially with a quarterback. If you’ve paid any amount of attention in this space, I’m a big Tyler Shough fan. He’s built for the AFC North. Not to mention, he might be the most pro-ready QB in this class. We take him here.

Third round (#67 overall): The best player on the board at this point is probably South Carolina linebacker Demetrius Knight Jr., and we will take him. Linebacker is a major strength of the Browns on paper, but Jeremiah Owusu-Koromoah’s status is still up in the air after sustaining a season-ending neck injury last season and Jordan Hicks will be a free agent after this season. We get ahead of a potential hole and grab Knight Jr., who is ready to play now.

Third round (#94 overall): Running back is a need in Cleveland for the first time in a long time. Luckily, there are tons of quality backs in this draft, including Kansas State’s DJ Giddens. The 6-0, 212-pounder is one of the more underrated talents this year, though he is beginning to receive some recognition for his potential. Giddens is lauded for his vision and patience. He had a terrific combine, leaping 10-10 in the broad jump and exploding for a 39.5” vertical. He ran a 4.39 in the 40-yard dash and a.1.53 10-yard split. He’s a good one-cut back, but my biggest issue with him is that he runs upright and has questionable start-stop ability. I’d like to see him play with more physicality, and we’ll see if his start-stop ability becomes a problem. Regardless, this is a tremendous value at this point in the draft. Giddens would challenge for the starting role immediately.

We’re talking about three — maybe four — immediate contributors and the next face of the franchise. I think that’s a pretty good draft, Browns fans.

The importance of this draft for this franchise can not be understated. This is a crucial first step toward a new beginning.

Thanks for reading and, as always, have a great day.

Josh