By now, every Cleveland Browns fan in the country knows the team holds the No. 6 overall pick in the NFL Draft that kicks off on April 23. The debate among members of the Dawg Pound naturally winds up on the question of what the Browns should do with it. This is a sneaky draft in that many of the top players are not necessarily at positions of need for Cleveland.
So, does Cleveland take the best player available, even if it's EDGE rusher Rueben Bain, safety Caleb Downs, or running back Jeremiyah Love? Should they reach for a prospect like offensive tackle Monroe Freeling at No. 6 because of their desperate need? No. They should do what thousands of Browns fans have done in each of their personal mock drafts and trade down.
The problem with mock draft simulations, though, is that there's always a team willing to trade with you, usually at extreme value, which isn't necessarily how things go in the NFL. But the newest report from ESPN's Adam Schefter puts the Browns in prime position to sell their pick for a hefty return, the kind of return that builds a stacked foundation that wins and wins a lot.
See, in countless mock drafts from experts including Daniel Jeremiah, Mel Kiper Jr., Bucky Brooks, and Todd McShay, Notre Dame's Jeremiyah Love goes in the top five. Each of them sends Love to the Tennessee Titans. Then there have been scattered rumors that the Giants might have interest in Love, despite having last year's bulldozing rookie Cam Skattebo, the always over-performing Tyrone Tracy Jr., and trusted veteran Devin Singletary on hand at the position.
Schefter poured a bucket of ice-cold water on those takes in his most recent appearance on the Pat McAfee Show:
"To me, [Jeremiyah Love]’s a top-10 pick. I know a lot of people had him going to Tennessee … that’s not what I’m sensing right now. Today, I don’t see him going to Tennessee. I don’t see him going to the Giants at No. 5, although that would be an interesting spot and I think he’d have a lot of support there. ... To me, a place that makes sense would be the Washington Commanders. They have added to their running back room, [but] I could see Washington being interested in a player like Jeremiyah Love."
The latest from Adam Schefter puts a big, flashing "For Sale" sign on the Browns' No. 6 pick
Let's get this out of the way early: Jeremiyah Love is a superstar prospect. He's absolutely electric. Not only do the Browns not need him — Quinshon Judkins will be back — but we've seen what happens to even the best running backs with porous offensive lines. (See: Saquon Barkley 2018–2023.) The thing that complicates finding a trade partner is that it takes a certain kind of team to move up for a running back, a team that fancies themselves a contender for the Super Bowl.
Those teams, typically, are not picking anywhere near the Browns' selection, making a trade with a team that fits the profile too precipitous a drop. But this draft's top 12 is not typical, meaning Cleveland is in luck. A team that was on the doorstep of the Super Bowl in 2025 is holding onto the No. 12 overall pick and their GM has spoken at length about going all-in on this championship window.
It's almost serendipitous, really. The Los Angeles Rams are the perfect trade partner for the Cleveland Browns.
The Rams' biggest needs were seemingly in the defensive secondary, and they made big splashes in acquiring the Chiefs' Trent McDuffie via trade and his former running mate Jaylen Watson as a free agent to fill those spots. Their purported interest in the Eagles' A.J. Brown telegraphs their yearning to add another weapon for Matthew Stafford, and there is likely no more NFL-ready offensive weapon than Jeremiyah Love.
What's more, Love would help Stafford through his twilight years and be firmly entrenched as the young centerpiece (along with Puka Nacua) of the Rams' offense going forward into their next era. It makes too much sense not to happen.
So what would the trade package look like? We can imagine Andrew Berry would accept something like this:
The trade would position the Browns to be locked and loaded for 2027 while still grabbing a blue-chip player in 2026
This package gives the Browns an extra top-100 pick in 2026, and it will leave them with two first-rounders again in 2027, leaving them with a war chest for what some are calling a historic draft class next year. The Deshaun Watson blunder was such an extreme mistake, and drastic times call for drastic measures. If the Browns complete this deal, they will have gone a long way to restoring the first-round picks surrendered to Houston, albeit years too late.
The part of this trade that would likely bring Browns fans most peace is that they'd be squarely out of "reach" territory. It's been nauseating to see draft pundits call Monroe Freeling a top-10 pick, simply because the Browns are at No. 6. That's simply connecting a team need to a shallow class at one position, not an actual reflection of talent.
This trade would allow the Browns to take Freeling (or one of the top receivers) at a spot more commensurate with their talent. The fact that the strengths of this draft class perfectly align with the Browns' strengths is so Cleveland-coded that you can't make it up. A trade like this would be the ultimate Uno-reverse card on the always cruel football gods.