Cleveland Browns 2025 NFL draft needs: Defensive linemen from Abdul Carter to Deone Walker

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The NFL draft is approaching fast.

The three-day event, which starts April 24, may be one of the single most important items on the Browns' calendar this year. From owner Jimmy Haslam down to coach Kevin Stefanski, the message has been emphatic about needing to find "really good football players" to help rebound from last year's 3-14 disaster.

The draft's where it all starts. It's where the NFL's best-run organizations find a large percentage of their top-line players, and where they also replenish those spots when players start to age.

The Browns have a variety of positional needs they have to address through the draft. This is the third part in a series that looks at those needs, which started with quarterback, continued with wide receivers and tight ends, running backs, and offensive tackle before now going to defensive linemen.

Each piece of this series will look at the number of picks the Browns have entering the draft, as well who is on their roster at that position. Then it will look at potential draft prospects, broken down as potential Day 1, Day 2 or Day 3 picks.

What draft picks do the Cleveland Browns have in the 2025 NFL draft?​

  • Day 1, April 24
  • No. 2, first round
  • Day 2, April 25
  • No. 33, second round
  • No. 67, third round
  • No. 94, third round (from Buffalo in Amari Cooper trade)
  • Day 3, April 26
  • No. 104, fourth round
  • No. 179, sixth round
  • No. 192, sixth round (from Chicago in Chris Williams trade)
  • No. 200, sixth round (from Minnesota in Za’Darius Smith trade)
  • No. 216, sixth round (compensatory pick)
  • No. 254, seventh round (compensatory pick)

Who are the defensive linemen on the Cleveland Browns roster?​

  • Defensive ends:
  • Myles Garrett
  • Sam Kamara
  • Isaiah McGuire
  • Ogbo Okoronkwo
  • Julian Okwara
  • Cameron Thomas
  • Joe Tryon-Shoyinka
  • Alex Wright
  • Defensive tackles:
  • Jowon Briggs
  • Maliek Collins
  • Mike Hall Jr.
  • Shelby Harris
  • Ralph Holley

Who are potential Day 1 NFL draft DL prospects for Cleveland Browns?​


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  • Defensive ends:
  • Abdul Carter, Penn State
  • Defensive tackles:
  • Mason Graham, Michigan

Carter remains firmly in the conversation for the Browns to select him at No. 2 overall. The Browns decision makers have said they're not concerned with the stress reaction in Carter's foot that emerged in a combine physical but will not require surgery. It certainly could create an amazing one-two punch off the edge with Garrett. Graham, meanwhile, would be a strong option assuming the Browns trade back, but only a couple of spots. He has been to Berea for a visit, as has another potential first-round defensive tackle, Derrick Harmon.

Who are potential Day 2 NFL draft DL prospects for Cleveland Browns?​

  • Defensive ends:
  • Ashton Gillotte, Louisville
  • Jack Sawyer, Ohio State
  • Nic Scourton, Texas A&M
  • Josaiah Stewart, Michigan
  • Defensive tackles:
  • Darius Alexander, Toledo
  • Shemar Turner, Texas A&M

There's an interesting mix of defensive linemen who could fall to the second day, especially at defensive end. They're talented enough to become solid starters in the NFL, maybe even Pro Bowlers, assuming certain aspects of their game develop. The question for Cleveland is the distribution of draft picks, especially among its first four picks, between offense and defense.

Who are potential Day 3 NFL draft DL prospects for Cleveland Browns?​


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  • Defensive ends:
  • Tyler Baron, Miami
  • Tyler Batty, BYU
  • David Walker, Central Arkansas
  • Defensive tackles:
  • Jamaree Caldwell, Oregon
  • Thor Griffin, Louisville
  • Omarr Norman-Lott, Tennessee
  • JJ Pegues, Ole Miss
  • Ty Robinson, Nebraska
  • Tim Smith, Alabama
  • Deone Walker, Kentucky

The final day of the draft feels like a spot where the Browns could take a few swings at either end or tackle. They have six picks on Day 3, five of those in the sixth or seventh round. There's some intriguing potential prospects who could fall to the final day because of various red flags, the biggest of those the 6-foot-7, 328-pound Walker, an All-SEC player as a sophomore in 2023 before a reported stress fracture in his back derailed his final college season. The Browns have been intrigued enough to bring him in for a visit, as they have with Norman-Lott.

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: Abdul Carter to Deone Walker, Browns' 2025 draft prospects at DL


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