We’re now just hours away from the 2026 NFL Draft, and thanks to one of the most polarizing rookie classes in recent memory, the only thing experts seem aligned on is early Day 1 fireworks.
The Cleveland Browns, at pick No. 6 overall, feel like the perfect team to open the trade floodgates this year. They hold two picks on Day 1, three picks inside the top 40, and GM Andrew Berry has already been taking calls with an eye on moving down the board, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Cleveland’s motivation to slide down closer to, and perhaps beyond, the 10th overall pick could be tied to multiple factors. While 11th-hour mock drafts have focused on Utah offensive tackle Spencer Fano being the Browns’ most likely pick at No. 6 overall, the team has also been heavily linked to Alabama’s Kadyn Proctor and Georgia’s Monroe Freeling. In a perfect scenario, the Browns are able to trade out of the No. 6 spot, land Proctor or Freeling in a more suitable range relative to their demand, and recoup the salary cap and real-cash savings of potentially moving outside of the top 10 picks.
So while most Browns fans will be on the edge of their seats hoping for one of the Ohio State studs, like wide receiver Carnell Tate or safety Caleb Downs, to be their team’s pick at No. 6, it seems just as likely (if not more) that they choose to reset the board at that spot via trade.
The latest expert mock draft, this one from FanSided insider Jason La Canfora, leans into Day 1 chaos in the best way for Cleveland.
La Canfora predicted the Browns would trade down on back-to-back picks — first from No. 6 with the Washington Commanders, and again from No. 7 with the Kansas City Chiefs — before landing Freeling at No. 9 overall. He then has the Browns, with their second first-round selection via the Jacksonville Jaguars, adding Toledo safety Emmanuel McNeil-Warren at No. 24.
"Head coach Todd Monken (helped recruit) Freeling at Georgia. He's a late bloomer, but several GMs told me they think he could be the best LT in the draft in a year or two. Browns have time," La Canfora wrote, adding of McNeil-Warren: "This is a hybrid prospect who would be up their alley. The Browns need help everywhere, and they could see Emmanuel McNeil-Warren as getting two players in one."
Browns latest draft trade prediction could actually be their ideal scenario
The most notable aspect of La Canfora’s mock from a Browns perspective involves the number two. Cleveland currently holds two first-round selections. He has the team making two trades from inside the top 10, while still only making two total first-round selections.
In this hypothetical scenario, it would make more sense for the Browns to score an extra first-round pick in 2026. Six different teams, including the Jets, Giants, Cowboys, Chiefs, and Dolphins, hold multiple selections on Day 1 of this draft. If Cleveland really made two separate trades down the board, wouldn't it make more sense to mock them with three picks in the first round?
La Canfora left room for interpretation on that front, as he didn’t include the terms of each trade in his write-up. He might have nailed the Browns’ ideal start to the draft from an internal perspective, though — some type of trade that nets future draft capital, including picks in future years.
Cleveland already owns some of the NFL’s best 2026 draft capital. Entering a draft that’s expected to be far less spectacular than next year's, it would make sense for the team to try and leverage its current position of power to add premium selections for 2027, while still scoring a respectable haul on Days 1 and 2 of this weekend’s draft.
La Canfora has the Browns going defense at pick No. 24, which might not match the fan base's best-case scenario. But in this hypothetical scenario, Cleveland has likely added some premium Day 2 capital to its board, so the team would almost certainly be targeting a wide receiver like Texas A&M's KC Concepcion or Washington's Denzel Boston early in the second round.
The perfect scenario for the Browns would be to leave Day 1 with two impact prospects, preferably an offensive tackle and wide receiver drafted outside of the top 10 due to overall draft value and cash considerations, while stockpiling picks for the future. Berry executed a similar plan in 2025, and unless the team either can’t find a trade partner or has been fooling us all along, fans should be expecting some type of continuation of that strategy on Thursday night.
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