2025 NFL Draft order if season ended today: Browns get No. 1 overall pick

It might be time to get realistic about the direction of this Cleveland Browns season.

The team is 1-5, its QB1 is floundering, and it just traded away its best wide receiver in Amari Cooper to the Buffalo Bills for draft compensation. While Nick Chubb is set to return in Week 7, it will be an uphill climb to try and even sniff 4-5 by the team's Week 10 bye. Not impossible, but very improbable.

So, while there may be no reason to look at playoff picture simulations for the Browns, the team finally has its first round pick again for the first time since it traded for Deshaun Watson back in 2022. Three years of waiting to be able to take anyone in the first round, and it might end up paying off for the front office - if, of course, it decides to move away from the Watson experiment. So far, that does not seem to be its move. But, if given a chance to draft a highly rated prospect, would they take a swing?

Before diving into who the team should be snatching up in 2025, let's take a look at where they currently land in the draft. This projected draft order is based on current win-loss record.

2025 NFL Draft order headed into Week 7, per NFL

Cleveland Browns
Carolina Panthers
New England Patriots
Jacksonville Jaguars
Tennessee Titans
Los Angeles Rams
Las Vegas Raiders
Cincinnati Bengals
New York Jets
New York Giants
New Orleans Saints
Arizona Cardinals
Miami Dolphins
Seattle Seahawks
Dallas Cowboys
Denver Broncos
Philadelphia Eagles
Green Bay Packers
San Francisco 49ers
Indianapolis Colts
Los Angeles Chargers
Chicago Bears
Washington Commanders
Buffalo Bills
Pittsburgh Steelers
Atlanta Falcons
Baltimore Ravens
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Detroit Lions
Houston Texans
Kansas City Chiefs
Minnesota Vikings

Cleveland is on the clock at No. 1 - now what?

As of now, the Browns hold the number one pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. A surprising development so far this season, but one to be expected with the team's tough schedule and the clear drop off in talent from Watson. But, do not be shocked to see many mock drafts having the team taking an offensive lineman and not a replacement quarterback like Colorado's Shedeur Sanders or Florida's Cam Ward.

The bottom line is this: the team desperately needs to be able to protect any new quarterback talent coming its way. It cannot do that behind an aging Jack Conklin or a slumping Jedrick Wills who is set to be a free agent after this season. Finding a young offensive lineman like an Andrew Thomas with the New York Giants, or a generational talent like Penei Sewell with the Detroit Lions, in the draft could help the Browns reap the benefits of an already solid on paper offense.

Being able to draft a "day one" prospect like Kelvin Banks Jr. out of Texas or Will Campbell out of LSU could be a game changer for the Browns in the offseason, and as they look ahead at what is shaping up to be a grind of a rebuild.

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