NFL Draft: Browns Current 1st Round Spots, What Could Be

The Cleveland Browns are now a full two games behind anyone for a Playoff spot, with two games to go. It is time to start to think more about the NFL Draft, sadly. The season isn’t over and there is a lot to play for, Johnny Manziel playing much better would be a nice start to the off-season.

So we are back to where we normally are in early November, this time over a month later. Looking at NFL Draft positioning for our beloved Browns. This year the Browns have 10 picks in total, at least until trader Ray Farmer gets going, to use to improve a much improved roster. They have two 1st rounders, two 4th rounders and two 6th rounders, to go along with their normal picks in every other round.

According to Dan Kadar this is how the first round would go if the season ended today:

"1. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 2-12 (.479 SOS)2. Tennessee Titans: 2-12 (.491 SOS)3. Jacksonville Jaguars: 2-12 (.509 SOS)4. Oakland Raiders: 2-12 (.585 SOS)5. Washington: 3-11 (.495 SOS)6. New York Jets: 3-11 (.550 SOS)7. Atlanta Falcons: 5-9 (.480 SOS)8. New York Giants: 5-9 (.511 SOS)9. New Orleans Saints: 5-8 (.482 SOS)10. Chicago Bears: 5-8 (.518 SOS)11. Minnesota Vikings: 6-8 (.480 SOS)12. St. Louis Rams: 6-8 (.536 SOS)13. Houston Texans: 7-7 (.441 SOS)14. Cleveland Browns: 7-7 (.461 SOS)15. Miami Dolphins: 7-7 (.516 SOS)16. San Francisco 49ers: 7-7 (.541 SOS)17. Kansas City Chiefs: 8-6 (.516 SOS)18. San Diego Chargers: 8-6 (.518 SOS)19. Cleveland Browns (via Buffalo Bills): 8-6 (.520 SOS)20. Dallas Cowboys: 9-4 (.450 SOS)"

To put into context what the 14th and 19th picks mean: Last year the Chicago Bears selected CB Kyle Fuller with the 14th pick and the Miami Dolphins selected OT Ja’Wuan James with the 19th pick. While the Browns may not have the option of a top flight, all world athlete outside of the Top 10, remember that Brandin Cooks, Kelvin Benjamin, Bradley Roby and Teddy Bridgewater were all selected after the 19th pick and had impactful seasons.

While many will be calling for the Browns to select offense, specifically skilled position players, it is clear that they also have issues upfront. It would not be shocking for Farmer to draft an offensive and defensive linemen in the first round. Many believe you build your team from the inside out, and yesterday the defensive line was pushed around and the offensive line struggled opening holes.

As we stand today the highest the Browns could select is 7th overall. but that would require 4 teams to win out, the Vikings, Rams and Texans to at least win 1 more game, the Browns to lose both of their games AND the Browns have the worst strength of schedule among the 7 win teams. Highly unlikely.

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More than likely the Browns will be drafting somewhere in the teens with their pick but the pick they get from the Buffalo Bills is even more up in the air. Buffalo is one game back of both Pittsburgh and Baltimore for the final playoff spot. They also currently lose tiebreakers to fellow 8-6 teams the Kansas City Chiefs and San Diego Chargers. After a big win against the talented Green Bay Packers, anything is possible for the Bills.

If they make the playoffs the Browns pick would be no higher than 21 but if the Bills, with their great defense, make it further the pick continues to drop down. The Bills finish with two winnable games. First they face the Oakland Raiders on the road. The Raiders are fighting for the #1 pick and shouldn’t be the greatest test. Then the Bills go back on the road against the Patriots. The Pats could have things locked up at that point and resting key players, making the game much easier for the Bills.

In mid-December we finally turn the page to start looking at NFL Draft positioning. It comes after an exciting season that showed the Browns have a solid talent base to work from and a good front office and coaching staff to lead their team. Nothing wrong with progress.

Now about the NFL Draft….

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Who or what position are you hoping the Browns address in the NFL Draft?