The Cleveland Browns are preparing to enter the NFL Draft and will have some bold moves up their sleeves to keep their team competitive heading into season
The Cleveland Browns are a franchise that seems to always stay in the limelight, even despite having teams that aren’t very good. With their fluctuation in quarterback changes or wholesale changes to their front office personnel for the past two decades, the team still manages to make news.
The Browns have usually used their NFL drafts over these years to help spark a change in that never-ending saga by trying to draft quality players. While it’s helped some in recent years, it’s still not been enough to change the trajectory of the team’s path toward winning. And still today it’s not been enough as it seems the team is fully immersed in more controversy and debate on a daily basis.
With the new acquisition of quarterback Deshaun Watson to the franchise the team is in a “win now” mode at all costs. How this latest move will affect the team’s decision-making in this upcoming NFL draft, in a little over a week from now, is anyone’s guess.
I’d imagine there will be a few more bold moves awaiting. The biggest move will likely involve the other quarterback that’s still on the roster. Let’s look at that move and many more that could be bullish in hopes of that solidifying that winning way for the franchise.
Bold prediction No. 5: Cleveland Browns trade Baker Mayfield during the draft
Baker Mayfield has been waiting to get traded for several weeks now and he will in all likelihood get traded during the upcoming draft. By all accounts, the Browns are taking their time and listening to potential offers. There are teams like the Detroit Lions and Seattle Seahawks that have picks in the first and second rounds of the draft that the Browns might be interested in moving up to get.
The Lions, in particular, have picks No. 32 and 34 and that might be the perfect place for the Browns to try and move into. However, are teams willing to give up a high pick like that for Mayfield?
Maybe Cleveland stays where they are at pick No. 44 and then they instead look to their third-round pick at No. 78 and trade that to a team with Mayfield included. This way they could pick another second-round pick or earlier third-round pick.
There are also teams like the New York Giants and the Carolina Panthers, who still need a better quarterback for their franchises and both have been rumored to have some interest in Mayfield. The Browns are smart to wait this out and see where the chips might fall.
Teams that are waiting for Mayfield to be released by the Browns will be disappointed because Cleveland will make a deal that benefits them in the long run. They may have to take on some portion of the nearly $19 million due to their previous franchise quarterback but in the end, I’d imagine with the dust settles on this current situation the Browns will look like they won the battle.
Bold prediction No. 2: Cleveland Browns move back into first round
Instead of holding steady at pick No. 44 in the second round of the draft, the Browns decide to move up into the first round of the draft. There are several players the team could be targeting either on the defensive side of the ball at defensive end or tackle.
They may even still have their eyes set on a wide receiver.
The Browns haven’t been known to make bold moves like this one but they’re also in a new stage of the team’s future. Spending a lot of money on bringing in a new quarterback as they did with Deshaun Watson may make this upcoming win at all costs more of a priority.
So if there is a prospect or two in that first round that the team is looking at strongly, it wouldn’t be alarming to see them make this move. There are any number of teams that might be willing to part with their pick in the first round if the Browns packaged some picks or even their quarterback, Baker Mayfield.
The New York Giants have two picks in the first round at No. 5 and 7 and could be interested in moving around (although it’s not as if Cleveland can move all the way up to No. 7 but if they were to move down at least once, they could suddenly be talking to Cleveland).
The Browns and Giants have been trading partners in the past and the Browns former head coach Freddie Kitchens is on the Giants coaching staff. The Seattle Seahawks have three picks in the first two rounds at No. 9 and 40 and 41. Would they be willing to part with the first-round pick to gain more picks?
Let’s not look past the Philadelphia Eagles either and their willingness to make a trade with Cleveland. They have two picks in the first round at No. 15 and 18. They have made trades with the Browns in the past too and might be an attractive partner to make a trade with again.
Bold prediction No. 3: Cleveland Browns draft a quarterback
All this quarterback talk for the Browns with the addition of Deshaun Watson, Jacoby Brissett, and most recently Josh Dobbs from the Pittsburgh Steelers would have you believe that the team is set in this department for this upcoming season.
But there could be an NFL suspension looming for Watson and Brissett is a seasoned veteran but could get injured along the way. It’s a long 17-game season. Dobbs has shown a few nice moments in his career but shouldn’t be relied on to carry the load of a starting quarterback.
So it wouldn’t be a huge surprise when the Browns pick a quarterback in this year’s draft. There are several good candidates out there that the team could pick.
The Browns then would have to decide who they’d want to carry on their active roster but it’s never a bad idea to have too many options at quarterback. The Browns ran into a serious dilemma this past season when both Baker Mayfield and Case Keenum came down with Covid and Nick Mullens came to the rescue.
Collegiate quarterbacks that Cleveland could consider drafting might include Skylar Thompson from Kansas State, Jack Coan of Notre Dame, or Kaleb Eleby from Western Michigan. All three could learn valuable lessons in a backup role and play on a practice squad for a year or two.
Bold prediction No. 2: Cleveland Browns draft a running back
Cleveland’s running game has been one of the best in the league for several years, especially with Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt leading the charge. They also discovered D’Ernest Johnson, to who they’ve tendered a new offer but nothing yet is set in stone.
Hunt is on the last season of his contract too. Could he be in a trade offer coming up in the draft?
So the idea of Cleveland drafting a new running back to learn behind some of these veterans isn’t too far-fetched. The class of running backs isn’t at its peak this year but it’s still a solid group.
Two players that might be of interest to the Browns might be Pierre Strong Jr., of South Dakota State and Damon Pierce of Florida. Strong runs like a bullet and can get past his defenders in the blink of an eye. Pierce reminds you of a bowling ball knocking down pins on his way to the endzone. He’s a hardnosed runner and would certainly become a fan favorite overnight if his name were called.
The Browns had luck with Nick Chubb out of Georgia when they drafted him in 2018. Maybe the team would consider another Bulldog in James Cook, who also happens to be the brother of Dalvin Cook, the star running back of the Minnesota Vikings.
Bold prediction No. 1: Cleveland Browns draft a kicker
Cleveland recently resigned kicker Chase McLaughlin but the team would be wise to draft a new kicker in this upcoming draft. The Browns have a history of having some of the best kickers in the game including the legend Lou Groza and more recently Phil Dawson.
Now the team and its fans hold their collective breath every time the kicker lines up for an extra point or a field goal.
There are several kickers to keep your eyes on in this draft. The first is Andrew Mevis, from Iowa State, who had an excellent career for the Cyclones. He went 20 for 23 on field goals and made one of 54 yards. His three misses were kicks in the 40 to 50-yard range. He was also a perfect 32 of 32 on extra points.
The next kicker to keep an eye on is Parker White out of South Carolina. He’s a tall and lanky kid standing at 6-foot-4. He went 16 for 17 on kicks and also made one from 54 yards.
The final kicker to watch for is Cameron Dicker out of Texas. He went 13 for 15 on kicks this past season and 49 or 50 on extra points.
He also was the team’s punter where he had nearly 47 yards a punt average on 47 punts.