3 Potential disastrous moves by Cleveland Browns with No. 74 pick in NFL Draft
By John Suchan
The 2023 NFL Draft is coming up in a few weeks and while most teams will be busy selecting players in the first couple of rounds the Cleveland Browns will likely be waiting until the third round as their first pick of the draft is currently No. 74. There are many options for the team with the selection but if they make certain moves they could be deemed disastrous.
Cleveland has spent the last month signing free agents and trading for some talent too. They've signed defensive tackles like Dalvin Tomlinson, a safety in Juan Thornhill and a new tight end in Jordan Akins. They made a splash when they traded for wide receiver Elijah Moore from the New York Jets.
The Browns have certainly done their work in strengthening areas of weakness on their roster. They are already set at major positions including quarterback, running back, and the entire offensive line. So where do they go with this first No. 74 pick? And what moves would be the wrong ones to make at this selection?
Browns disastrous move No. 3: Drafting a running back
The Browns have one of the best running backs in the NFL in Nick Chubb. They also drafted Jerome Ford a year ago out of Cincinnati. While Ford didn't see much action in his rookie campaign, he will likely see more time this season — especially now that Kareem Hunt is a free agent and not in the plans going forward.
Cleveland will still need to look at drafting a running back and this class of backs is very deep for this draft but taking one at No. 74 just doesn't make much sense unless he were a player that was a projected top 30 or 40 pick overall. The only two players at this point in that group are Jahmyr Gibbs out of Alabama and Bijan Robinson of Texas.
The Browns have several selections in the fourth round and many more after that so I do suspect that they will go get a running back. Some of those prospects would include Tyjae Spears of Tulane, Deuce Vaughn from Kansas State, Roschon Johnson from Texas, and Keaton Mitchell from East Carolina.