It’s NFL trade deadline season, and general manager Andrew Berry has historically been as active as they come with midseason deals.
This year has a different feel to it, though. The 2026 Cleveland Browns are firmly in a position to buy ahead of the Nov. 10 deadline.
Cleveland enters one of the biggest weeks on the NFL calendar holding 11 selections in the 2027 draft, including seven Day 3 picks. According to Over the Cap, the Browns own the league’s 10th-most salary cap space at $12 million.
The Browns have every reason to invest in this season. They’re 5-3, firmly in the thick of the AFC North arms race, and are learning how to win under a first-year head coach in Todd Monken and the second-youngest roster in football.
Cleveland is also about to enter a favorable stretch in their schedule with games against the 2-5 New Orleans Saints (away) and the 2-5 Houston Texans (home). Following their Week 11 bye, the Browns play consecutive home games against the Raiders (4-4), Bengals (5-2) and Falcons (3-5).
So after years of Browns fans watching Berry sell off veteran players like Amari Cooper and Za’Darius Smith ahead of the deadline, this could finally be Cleveland’s chance to be the team playing for now instead of the future.
Through that lens, let’s sift through a list of 26 players who have a feasible chance to be traded at Cleveland’s four top positions of need: defensive end, defensive tackle, tight end, and cornerback.
2026 Cleveland Browns Trade Deadline Big Board
- The probably not happening (but we can dream) tier
- The More Realistic Andrew Berry Splash Move Tier
- The It Just Makes Sense Tier
- The Less Exciting But At Least We Did Something Tier
The probably not happening (but we can dream) tier
- Jonathan Taylor, RB, Indianapolis Colts
- Tui Tuipulotu, EDGE, Los Angeles Chargers
- Khalil Mack, EDGE, Los Angeles Chargers
- Nolan Smith Jr., EDGE, Philadelphia Eagles
- Vita Vea, DT, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Moro Ojomo, DT, Philadelphia Eagles
- Grover Stewart, DT, Indianapolis Colts
- Dallas Goedert, TE, Philadelphia Eagles
- Alontea Taylor, CB, Tennessee Titans
These are the pipe-dream targets. The Browns aren’t being taken seriously in the race to win the AFC North, never mind the Super Bowl this year. Berry isn’t expected to spend real cash and draft capital on a major piece like Jonathan Taylor, Khalil Mack, or Vita Vea.
Hey, we can dream, right?
Taylor would be a ton of fun. The Browns definitely shouldn’t be sending the Colts premium draft picks for a running back, though. Quinshon Judkins and Dylan Sampson are cost-controlled 2025 draft picks who should only continue to get better.
Vea would be awesome. The Browns have been struggling to stop the run this season, and Vea would be the epitome of adding a mobile brick wall along the interior. He’s a West Coast guy, though, and would probably prefer a move in that direction — if the Bucs move him at all.
Goedert is an intriguing name, along with any Eagles player given Berry’s connection to Howie Roseman and that front office. Is Goedert the right fit alongside Harold Fannin Jr.? Probably not. The Browns could use more of a mauler in the blocking game.
But Fannin and Goedert would be quite the two-headed monster in 12 personnel, and the Browns are brutally thin at tight end right now.
The More Realistic Andrew Berry Splash Move Tier
- Will McDonald IV, EDGE, New York Jets
- Yaya Diaby, EDGE, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Carl Granderson, EDGE, New Orleans Saints
- Amik Robertson, CB, Washington Commanders
- Juwan Johnson, TE, New Orleans Saints
These moves are slightly more likely, but Berry would still need to part with some major assets.
McDonald is an interesting potential target, as the Jets just dropped to 2-6 and could look to continue to add draft capital for 2027 and beyond. The Browns also just played the Jets, and McDonald was a force in that game — notching three pressures, a sack, and a fumble recovery.
If Berry looks to add depth to the cornerback room — the cupboard has been bare behind Denzel Ward and Tyson Campbell since training camp — Robertson could be worth checking on. He’s stuck on a bad Commanders team (2-4-1), doesn’t have any guaranteed money remaining in his contract after this season, and has the versatility to play both on the boundary and the slot.
The Browns will travel to New Orleans to play the Saints this week, and fans should keep an eye on Johnson, their top tight end. He’s a willing blocker (though probably a step down in that department from Goedert) and basically splits his reps between inline and the slot.
The It Just Makes Sense Tier
- K’Lavon Chaisson, EDGE, Washington Commanders
- Jermaine Johnson II, EDGE, Tennessee Titans
- A’Shawn Robinson, DT, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Dalvin Tomlinson, DT, Los Angeles Chargers
- Charlie Kolar, TE, Los Angeles Chargers
Robinson might make the most sense for the Browns out of any player on this list. He’s a veteran, should be relatively cheap, and is a force in the run game. Pro Football Focus ranks Robinson second out of 130 qualifying defensive tackles against the rush with an 88.5 grade.
The Browns probably should have signed Kolar in free agency, but with the Chargers sitting at 0-7, there’s a chance for Berry to add him now. Kolar makes his living at the line of scrimmage as a blocking specialist and spent three years playing in Todd Monken’s offense with the Ravens.
The Less Exciting But At Least We Did Something Tier
- Dorance Armstrong Jr., EDGE, Washington Commanders
- Baron Browning, EDGE, Arizona Cardinals
- Riq Woolen, CB, Philadelphia Eagles
- Noah Fant, TE, New Orleans Saints
- Ja'Tavion Sanders. TE. Carolina Panathers
- Shemar Stewart, EDGE, Cincinnati Bengals
Another potential target from Philly’s roster, Woolen offers size and speed in the secondary and is playing on a one-year deal. He’s been the Eagles’ starter opposite Quinyon Mitchell but doesn’t appear to be in Roseman’s future plans. He’s a recent Super Bowl champion who should be available for a Day 3 pick.
Stewart, the No. 17 overall draft pick last season, appears to have already fallen out of favor in Cincinnati. Deals within the AFC North are obviously tricky, but not unprecedented. Stewart hasn’t even turned 23 years old yet and, per ESPN insider Jeremy Fowler, “teams predict a Day 3 pick would be the most likely value.”
The Browns should at least inquire about Stewart, who could be another young depth piece for a defensive end group that has underwhelmed in the first half of the season.
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