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Cleveland Browns: 3 Best picks to make at No. 26 in 2021 NFL Draft

By Randy Gurzi

CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA - NOVEMBER 27: Isaiah Foskey #7 and Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah #6 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish pressure Sam Howell #7 of the North Carolina Tar Heels during the first half of their game at Kenan Stadium on November 27, 2020 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA - NOVEMBER 27: Isaiah Foskey #7 and Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah #6 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish pressure Sam Howell #7 of the North Carolina Tar Heels during the first half of their game at Kenan Stadium on November 27, 2020 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /
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Cleveland Browns
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA – NOVEMBER 09: Wide receiver Rashod Bateman #13 of the Minnesota Golden Gophers scores a touchdown against the Penn State Nittany Lions during the first quarter at TCFBank Stadium on November 09, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /

2. Rashod Bateman, Wide Receiver, Minnesota

There will be those unhappy with seeing a wide receiver on the list but the fact is, Rashod Bateman is a player who should very much be on the Cleveland Browns radar — and at No. 26 in a class where there’s not great depth on the EDGE and some of the best corners will go very early, a wideout could be a real possibility as the best player available.

As for Bateman, he’s a 6-foot-1, 190-pound wideout who has one of the more polished games in this class. He has more height than the two current starting receivers in Cleveland and is able to win on the boundaries as an outside receiver.

Having said that, his route tree is phenomenal and he’s arguably even better inside working in the slot. The versatility he offers is just one of the many reasons Bateman would make sense for Cleveland.

Of course, the elephant in the room would be the question of why Cleveland would add a receiver when they already have Odell Beckham, Jr. and Jarvis Landry. The answer, however, is simple. Both OBJ and Landry will be 29-years old this November. On top of that, they each had injuries to deal with and while Landry pushed through the hip and rib issues he had, Beckham wasn’t as lucky as a torn ACL ended his season prematurely.

29 might not feel as though it’s too old but the Browns need to have someone young to groom should either one struggle to get back to the healthy version of themselves we are used to seeing. And after all the injuries suffered in the Cleveland receiver corps in 2020, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to have some young, fresh legs ready to go.

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