The Cleveland Browns will have a lot of tough decisions to make on draft weekend, including their ten selections overall. The two in the first 24 picks will be detrimental to improving the team.
Last year, Cleveland traded back to pick five from second overall and selected defensive lineman Mason Graham, passing up on offensive linemen like Armand Membou and Kelvin Banks Jr. At that point in time, though, Cleveland did not necessarily need an offensive tackle, so of course, hindsight is always 20/20.
Some fans could also get upset that the Browns did not draft offensive rookie of the year Tetairoa McMillian, but it did not seem like the Browns were targeting a premium wide receiver last season.
So what about this year? What positions do we think the Browns front office is going after? Andrew Berry seemed to answer some of those questions at the combine.
“I think you’ve heard me say over the years that the draft is for the highest sustainable impact that’s not to say that positional value doesn’t have some role in that, but at the same time, it’s not like you’re just going to match your picks to the best of whatever.”
Berry seems to be pointing at how most people look at football, the most impact is going to come from a quarterback, but other than the QB, the impact comes who is from protecting the QB and the players that get after the QB.
What to make of Berry’s remarks at the NFL Combine
The Graham pick last year could be an outlier, but Graham stops the ball and provides looks for Myles Garrett and Alex Wright to get to the quarterback.
If the Browns stick at pick six, it is more than likely that they choose an offensive lineman. We know that Fernando Mendoza is more than likely going to the Raiders at No. 1 overall, Ohio State linebacker Arvell Reese seems like he is going in the top five, along with edge defender David Bailey from Texas Tech. That will potentially leave Cleveland with a choice of one of the top tackles available, like Spencer Fano from Utah or Francis Mauigoa from Miami.
Berry also said that the Browns will be flexible based on how the draft falls.
“I wouldn’t have guessed that the draft played out positionally the way that it did in 2025,” Berry said. “You have to be flexible and adaptable in terms of where the player pool and where the talent pool is.”
This points towards the Browns also taking the temperature of where the talent pool is at when they are selecting, if they believe that the talent pool is not up to par at pick six or 24, they might go off script or trade back.
Berry seems to be emphasizing the offensive line, along with potentially adding a few different pass catchers.
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