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BEREA — The Browns started the NFL draft by trading down to take Michigan defensive tackle Mason Graham with the No. 5 pick. They ended the draft by trading up in the fifth round to land the quarterback — Colorado's Shedeur Sanders — some thought they should take with their original No. 2 overall pick.
Somewhere in between those two picks, the Browns may have signaled the end of the line for a beloved franchise icon by taking two running backs. They also may have opened the door to questions at least about the short-term prognostication of one of their best young players by taking a linebacker with the first pick in the second round.
There were only seven total picks made by Cleveland over the three days. Those seven picks could signal an introduction to the next phase of the Browns, while also signaling the beginning of the end of the current one.
The only question is whether or not it could signal a true trurning of the corner for the Browns. Or, is the team simply going around, only to run into a brick wall.
Start in reverse order, because it's the back end of the Browns' draft. That's because it's where they gave way what could be their line of thinking, which is that it's time to get younger, but don't risk the whole thing the way a previous regime did about a decade earlier.
That's where the Browns jumped up to the No. 144 pick in the fifth round in order to get Sanders. If they hit on the pick, it may be one of the greatest steals in draft history.
If the Browns don't hit on it, then it was a fifth-round pick, not a first- or second-round pick that many thought they would use to draft the quarterback. Of course, there's also the argument Sanders sort of fell into their laps a bit, especially since they committed a third-round pick the night before on Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel.
The Gabriel pick felt like the Browns were "forcing it" for a quarterback. The Sanders pick feels like good value, meanwhile.
The final day of the draft was all about doubling up. The Browns took two quarterbacks and two running backs in the first five round for the first time since 1967, having taken Ohio State running back Quinshon Judkins at No. 36 overall in the second round before taking Tennessee's Dylan Sampson in the fourth round with pick No. 126.
The quarterbacks will join Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett in a competition to be the starter for the season. The running backs, though, may mean the end of a era in Browns football with Nick Chubb, who remains unsigned as a free agent.
Tight end Harold Fannin Jr., taken No. 67 in the third round, gives the Browns a potential heir apparent to David Njoku. Njoku is coming up on the final year of his contract, even though general manager Andrew Berry has said Njoku was a "core" player for the team.
Linebacker Carson Schwesinger, taken with the first pick of the second round at No. 33, was a strange pick in a vacuum considering the positional value given by the organization. Still, despite Berry's insistence that it has no connection, it has to at least give some pause to what the status is of Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah in his recovery from a neck injury.
While the Sanders pick will generate the most buzz, the move that got the whole thing started was the decision to trade with the Jacksonville Jaguars to open the draft. The trade down three spots out of No. 2 to No. 5 didn't just net Graham, but it also landed the second-round pick that became Judkins, the fourth-rounder that became Sampson and a first-round pick in the 2026 draft.
By that time, the Browns should have an idea just how much the last three days have helped to potentially dig them out of the 3-14 hole they were put in last season. Or, merely dig it even deeper.
The Browns had three of their four Day 2 draft picks in Berea on Saturday for an introduction: Judkins, Fannin and Schwesinger. The three were in the middle of a press conference taking questions when Cleveland jumped up to take Sanders.
As the news broke, it was fitting to get a real-time response from Sanders' newest teammates. Fannin was asked what he thought of getting a chance to play with the Colorado quarterback.
“That would be great, man," Fannin said. "You know what I mean? I’d definitely be down for him if the Browns would be able to pick him up.”
Chris Easterling can be reached at [email protected]. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Browns make potential franchise-changing moves in draft: Takeaways
Continue reading...
Somewhere in between those two picks, the Browns may have signaled the end of the line for a beloved franchise icon by taking two running backs. They also may have opened the door to questions at least about the short-term prognostication of one of their best young players by taking a linebacker with the first pick in the second round.
There were only seven total picks made by Cleveland over the three days. Those seven picks could signal an introduction to the next phase of the Browns, while also signaling the beginning of the end of the current one.
The only question is whether or not it could signal a true trurning of the corner for the Browns. Or, is the team simply going around, only to run into a brick wall.
Start in reverse order, because it's the back end of the Browns' draft. That's because it's where they gave way what could be their line of thinking, which is that it's time to get younger, but don't risk the whole thing the way a previous regime did about a decade earlier.
That's where the Browns jumped up to the No. 144 pick in the fifth round in order to get Sanders. If they hit on the pick, it may be one of the greatest steals in draft history.
If the Browns don't hit on it, then it was a fifth-round pick, not a first- or second-round pick that many thought they would use to draft the quarterback. Of course, there's also the argument Sanders sort of fell into their laps a bit, especially since they committed a third-round pick the night before on Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel.
The Gabriel pick felt like the Browns were "forcing it" for a quarterback. The Sanders pick feels like good value, meanwhile.
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The final day of the draft was all about doubling up. The Browns took two quarterbacks and two running backs in the first five round for the first time since 1967, having taken Ohio State running back Quinshon Judkins at No. 36 overall in the second round before taking Tennessee's Dylan Sampson in the fourth round with pick No. 126.
The quarterbacks will join Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett in a competition to be the starter for the season. The running backs, though, may mean the end of a era in Browns football with Nick Chubb, who remains unsigned as a free agent.
Tight end Harold Fannin Jr., taken No. 67 in the third round, gives the Browns a potential heir apparent to David Njoku. Njoku is coming up on the final year of his contract, even though general manager Andrew Berry has said Njoku was a "core" player for the team.
Linebacker Carson Schwesinger, taken with the first pick of the second round at No. 33, was a strange pick in a vacuum considering the positional value given by the organization. Still, despite Berry's insistence that it has no connection, it has to at least give some pause to what the status is of Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah in his recovery from a neck injury.
While the Sanders pick will generate the most buzz, the move that got the whole thing started was the decision to trade with the Jacksonville Jaguars to open the draft. The trade down three spots out of No. 2 to No. 5 didn't just net Graham, but it also landed the second-round pick that became Judkins, the fourth-rounder that became Sampson and a first-round pick in the 2026 draft.
By that time, the Browns should have an idea just how much the last three days have helped to potentially dig them out of the 3-14 hole they were put in last season. Or, merely dig it even deeper.
Most surreal moment in a surreal kind of Browns draft
The Browns had three of their four Day 2 draft picks in Berea on Saturday for an introduction: Judkins, Fannin and Schwesinger. The three were in the middle of a press conference taking questions when Cleveland jumped up to take Sanders.
As the news broke, it was fitting to get a real-time response from Sanders' newest teammates. Fannin was asked what he thought of getting a chance to play with the Colorado quarterback.
“That would be great, man," Fannin said. "You know what I mean? I’d definitely be down for him if the Browns would be able to pick him up.”
Chris Easterling can be reached at [email protected]. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Browns make potential franchise-changing moves in draft: Takeaways
Continue reading...
