Each week until the NFL draft, it's fun to put on a mock draft hat and get real zany about the Cleveland Browns' many, many picks in the top 100 of the draft.
Of course, the most fun hypothetical to consider is whether the Browns will actually go for a quarterback with their top pick, which is the second overall selection. They're battling out the Tennessee Titans for Cam Ward, although it seems like despite Cleveland's major interest in landing the signal caller, the Titans have that same desire to get the best QB in the draft.
That leaves Cleveland with just one quarterback option with their top pick, assuming they don't just go with the best player available there and snag Abdul Carter to form a ridiculously good pass rush.
Shedeur Sanders' ceiling isn't what should be discussed when thinking of his potential in the NFL. His floor, and how much he can improve upon as a pocket passer and smaller quarterback, is the real question mark hovering above him as we enter the NFL draft and the silly season around it. So, assuming the Browns take him in the draft, how do they round out the rest of their selections?
Browns land Sanders, starting tackle in 3-round mock draft
In this mock draft, Cleveland takes Sanders as their up and coming quarterback in the NFL draft. Going off the assumption that the team is still going to either sign a veteran in free agency or trade for Kirk Cousins, Sanders isn't going to be starting for the Browns right away. And, that's a good thing.
Some suggested reading for Browns fans is Yahoo Sports' Nate Tice's extensive draft profile on Sanders. Tice concludes after his film review and evaluation of the Colorado quarterback that that Sanders is "more of a project than an early starter, much less impact player, at the next level." He also compares him to Cousins, Teddy Bridgewater, and Alex Smith.
Of course, and as Tice notes, anything can happen. Sanders is a tough-nosed, hard working quarterback who could actually end up hitting a ceiling unbeknownst to us or even himself at the next level. But, he needs time to develop. If Cleveland's okay with that, then he's a great pick here.
Simmons is the big-name tackle taken by the Browns in this mock draft. The Ohio State University Buckeye dealt with a knee injury that kept him sidelined for some time in 2024, but he's noted he'll be ready for the draft and training camp if drafted.
Projected to eventually become a plus starter by the NFL's draft metrics, Simmons finished up his championship-winning tenure with the Buckeyes with a 74.4 PFF grade. A left tackle who could add to the Browns' depth behind Dawand Jones in earnest would be a huge get.
This was a surprising result of the auto-draft feature on NFL Mock Draft Simulator. Considering the team's need for a running back at around this point in the draft, the auto-draft feature instead selecting a defensive lineman was interesting. West is a not exactly one of the popular names in this year's defensive lineman class.
He has some great run defense grades, but his pass rushing ability isn't as strong. That's fine, especially with Cleveland just needing some youth on the line and as the team already locked up Myles Garrett long term as the head of their pass rushing snake, anyway. West, who's weaknesses include a lack of tackling proficiency and explosiveness, would definitely be a depth addition.
Denzel Ward needs some help in the secondary, and while adding a rookie to the team doesn't exactly inspire confidence that they'll be able to revamp their cornerback room alongside Ward, it's just one way of adding some depth. Strong, projected to be a solid backup in the league by the NFL's draft prospect rating system, would be a decent addition to the room.
With six passes defended in addition to two interceptions and one forced fumble, Strong had a decent final year with the Hokies. The DMV native could develop into a starter under defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz.