The Cleveland Browns have a nearly sure-fire pick to make at No. 2 overall in the NFL draft. They can either take Travis Hunter, who is a two-way potential phenom with a shot at being the teams' WR1 and CB2, or Abdul Carter, who'd be a ridiculous addition to a defensive line already featuring the pass rushing talent of Myles Garrett.
The Browns really, genuinely, cannot overthink this one. Two players are worth taking atop the draft, and those are the only two players they should be focused on snagging. Except, you know, this is the Browns.
General manager Andrew Berry, likely with some newfound job security thanks to owner Jimmy Haslam admitting it was he who pushed for the trade to land Deshaun Watson towards the beginning of Berry's tenure, is apparently looking to make a huge deal before the draft kicks off. And, that deal unfortunately, involves their top pick.
Berry might look to move off Browns' No. 2 overall pick
Per Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, the Browns have been fielding calls for the No. 2 pick in the draft. A team of note to monitor as the potential aggressor in a deal involving that pick would be the team holding the No. 5 pick in the draft, the Jacksonville Jaguars.
And, per Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer, the Browns might be seeking to trade back in the draft to target one specific position that'd be pretty sought out after that fifth overall pick: tackle.
If the Jaguars go up to 2 here, presume it's for Travis Hunter. And if the Browns fall back to 5, they'd remain in front of the Raiders and Jets to fill their OT need. Cleveland didn't have a 5 before the deal with Houston, so it could be earmarked to be a giveback in a trade. https://t.co/a6qZ6wvLKt
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) April 24, 2025
There are certainly several first round worthy tackles in this year's draft. Names that come to mind include Armand Membou, Kelvin Banks Jr., and Will Campbell. Cleveland could really use tackle depth, especially with the potential departure of Jack Conklin next offseason and as there's still a hole at starting LT left by Jedrick Wills Jr.
Read more: Browns must target these 3 offensive tackles to replace Jed Wills Jr.
But, imagining them taking a tackle over Hunter is a really tough pill to swallow. This team needs scoring, and a tackle isn't solving that problem for Cleveland. Even if they did punt their second overall pick, they should be trying to use their potentially newfound fifth overall pick to land another offensive juggernaut like Ashton Jeanty, for example.
Again, we don't really know what reality is until we see the Browns on the clock. This has been an abnormally quiet draft, especially amongst these top-picking teams. The fireworks seem destined to go off for someone in the top-5 order of the draft.