Cleveland Browns Rebuild Strategy: Can One Draft Fix the Roster?

So, the Cleveland Browns five and 12 last year, their second straight season with a dozen or more losses. They fired Kevin Stefanski. However, they're picking sixth and 24th in the first [snorts] round of the 2026 NFL Draft. Can this year's draft fix them or at least put them back on a path towards respectability, T? Oh, I better than a path to respectability. I think that a good draft this year and well-executed draft this year, the Browns will be a very respectful team because when you look at the Browns They are the one. Look, they're they're a team we talked about a lot in a positive fashion last year. I would

think and this has been the most handicapped franchise in the NFL the last half decade. And it's not just because they had signed the worst contract in pro sports. It's the draft. I mean, this team has made two first-round selections in the last five years and that was Greg Newsome and Mason Graham. I think both of those were legends very good selections. Newsome was like the 26th overall pick in that draft, so it wasn't even a premier selection. And if you go back and look at recent years and because of that handicap from the Deshaun Watson trade and signing, the 2024 draft might go down as the worst draft in the history of sports outside of the in pro sports outside of

the NBA cuz you sometimes, you know, you only get two picks in the NBA. Sometimes you don't make any. But I would love to ask this trivia question to those of you watching of who was the most impactful player from the Browns 2024 draft class. I'll tell you who it is. JoJuan Briggs played the most snaps Woah. uh in the last two years and he played it for the New York Jets. This which is crazy to think about within two years of drafting him. He wasn't even on the team and he's the guy that's made the biggest impact in the NFL. But JoJuan Briggs is a tank. You look at last year, an opportunity to actually have a cupboard full of selections and nobody did a better job than the Cleveland Browns. Mason Graham is a

great impact player uh in the middle of their defense. Carson Swaim was the defensive rookie of the year. Love that guy. Um Quinton Jefferson and Harold Landry I think are excellent pieces of an offense that we haven't even seen them hit, you know, the bottom of the barrel of what they could potentially be in the NFL. And that kind of leads you to a situation where the holes on the roster there are some, but I think that they can plug those throughout the draft this year and be in a good position moving forward. Yeah, I think the question the way Jonah asked it is can they What did you say? Can they get back that out. To respectability. To Can this draft fix them or at the very least put them back on a path towards respectability?

I think yes, it can put them on a path and help continue laying the foundation that they were doing last year. To T's point like they're clearly I mean, I thought it was a great draft last year coming out and it played out that way. I mean, Mason Graham wasn't quite as productive as I think many were hoping, but I think there's still a lot of upside there for the long term, but I think they can continue to lay the foundation, but anyone expecting this one draft to turn them around is going to be disappointed because I don't think they're going to get their quarterback. Like this to me all like puts the pieces together and like puts the team in a good position to go be aggressive and get that quarterback next year, which

as we are all hoping is a better quarterback class than this year, but we also said that last year. Right, which I hope they do. I'm not sitting here I think that they can have a productive season this year without the quarterback. Yeah. I really hope they don't select Ty Simpson in the second round after they picked two quarterbacks in last year's draft. I don't think now is the time for it. Simpson would be a good second-round pick for someone, but I think that the Browns should just wait. Understand where you are and just wait for next year. Don't because if Simpson doesn't like if they end up going three and 14

with Ty Simpson, they're just going to draft a quarterback at the top of next year's draft. So, don't don't waste that pick. Just kind of build toward that knowing that you're probably trying to get Arch Manning next year. Right, they they've actually made some additions that are not high ceiling. Like the offensive line was maybe the second worst in the league. The Chargers were the worst, they might have been the second. The Raiders were maybe the second worst. The Browns are right there. But they added guys who I think have high floors, but not high ceilings. Like Titus Howard, Dion Johnson, Melton Jenkins. Like there's some injury history there for Jenkins for sure, but if those guys are playing and starting,

I think it really elevates what they were last year. And like let's keep in mind that I do think with Todd Monken stepping in, there's no question this is should be a run-first offense. And I think Judkins is a really talented player and if the offensive line is playing at a much higher level, they can ride that offensive line and ride their run game. And obviously defense has continued to be very productive despite their lack of offensive production. That you look at receiver, you look at offensive line, maybe you want to add a pass rusher next to Myles Garrett. And I think we're talking about a roster that's in a much better place than people think it is.

Quarterback obviously is the question. I'm not going to sit here and say Deshaun Watson gets back to being the starter and finds it at a high level or that Shedeur Sanders is the savior for this team. But we've seen plenty of teams in the NFL have productive seasons without the high-level quarterback play. And I do think the Browns roster is a lot closer to being able to do that than people think. I don't want to rain on this parade. I feel a kinship to the Browns. I'm a Jets fan. I know what it's like to be in the toilet bowl. I know how much it sucks when people dump and dump on your team. And I do believe that the things that they did last year in the draft are a good sign for how they can move forward and how

they can build a team. But the problem is there is a fundamental rotting of this franchise that still exists with the leadership all the way from ownership down to who's leading the quarterback room. And you have your two most controversial players on your team are your QB1 and QB2 presumptively going into the season. Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders are your two most controversial players on the team. Uh Shedeur Sanders is controversial for reasons I think sometimes that are out of his control, sometimes in his control, but that's not a good situation. The ownership uh is out here touting Deshaun Watson as a legitimate option for them to be their starting quarterback. And the GM thinks that's

what's going to happen. And you could tell that it doesn't seem like Todd Monken is on the same page because he's out there pumping Shedeur Sanders' tires. So, you have all of these good pieces here in the middle, but when you have no leadership, when you have no people that have a history of winning, when you don't have people that are there to galvanize the locker room, I think that it can cause a rotting around all of these things that eventually puts you into that same spot. And I also have questions like what the hell is Myles Garrett doing on this team? That is one of the most misplaced players in the NFL. You should have traded him. You could get If you could get two first-round picks for Sauce Gardner,

imagine what you can get for Myles Garrett. Right? If you could get two first-round picks for Maxx Crosby as good as he is, you could probably get more for Myles Garrett. And they should use those picks to trade up. about one of the best players in the entire league that they should they should take the chance to deal him. He made the decision to sign an extension. Why would any team in the league sign him to that extension? He's a great player. Why do why are we talking about getting picks to prospectively get Myles Garrett when you can have Myles Garrett? Because there is no shot that the Cleveland Browns are going to be a playoff team this year. There is zero shot. That's just not I don't think that's

yeah. They don't have a quarterback. There's There's been Are we going to sit here and say Have you not watched the Houston Texans in the last decade plus of football when they were consistently playing on wildcard weekend with guys like Brock Osweiler, Tom Savage? You've got I know you've got a lot of What are Brock Osweiler, Tom Savage doing now? They're They're That doesn't mean 72 years old. playoff They are not 72. They played playoff football at the same age as me. Quarterback wins you Super Bowls. But quarterback isn't necessarily the piece puts you in a position to make the playoffs. Okay, well, if we're going to operate on the assumption that they can do what you're

saying that I don't buy it, but I do think that they can get headed in the right direction again, building off last year. So, I put together a seven-round mock draft Please. Please show me. for what I think that the would be a dream haul for the Browns. And heading in, I think you've got a couple things that you have to do in this draft. You have to round out the offensive line. You mentioned their additions on the offensive line this off season. They resigned Teven Jenkins, they added Titus Howard, Elton Jenkins, and they added Zion Johnson. They still need a left tackle. I think that should be a focus. They need a receiver, more pass-rush help for Myles Garrett, and they need some help at corner. And then beyond that, I think it's depth.

So, for me, first round at number six, I have them going with Carnell Tate. I think that gets you a number one receiver, just really good route runner. He can also win in contested catch situations. And that's a massive need for the Browns. They do not have matter who is playing at quarterback, they need help at receiver. the football, but it's Yeah, I mean, Jerry Jeudy's proven what I think we know what Jerry Jeudy is right now. Not a number one wide receiver. Rudy pooty Jerry Jeudy. Uh at number 24, again, that second first-round pick that they got from the Travis Hunter trade last year, I've got them taking Caeden Proctor. I don't love

the fit at left tackle. Um I don't know 100% that he's going to stay or that he can stay at that side after playing there at Alabama, but he's a much better athlete than people would think for a player of his size. And I think he could be a really good value at this part point in the first round. Um in the third round, I've got them going with Keionte Scott. I know you love Keionte Scott. I think that personally he would have been a first-rounder if he wasn't 25 turn- turning 25 in August. Obviously, the age impacts the draft value a little bit. Um but I would just love to drop a player like this into this defense as their like primary slot defender, a lead athlete, physical, smart.

This would take their defense to another level in my opinion. Uh fourth round sorry, there's third-round pick Romello Height. Uh he's he's a notable name for sure. I think people will probably be surprised to see him available this late. Um to me, I mean, maybe he goes a little bit earlier, but he's more so just a pass-rush specialist. He's not really going to offer much in the run game, so I think he could be available later than people think. And adding that kind of guy opposite Myles Garrett in your sub packages, that's another one that could take the defense to another level after what we saw last year.

Further down the draft board, you're mostly looking at depth pieces, but I think that Jalen Farmer could be a good depth and potentially future starter at guard. They don't I believe they only brought back Teven Jenkins on a one-year deal, so that's probably a natural successor to him down the line. Uh Kevin Coleman is a really interesting slot receiver. Uh kind of offers the yards after catch and quickness that maybe Carnell Tate doesn't. So, I think he could be a nice tandem long-term. Uh Michael Taf just depth for uh Grant Delpit and uh Ronnie Hickman at safety. Uh Demani Jackson, uh depth on the outside at corner. Uh good man coverage corner. And Robert Henry could be a nice you know, creative uh elusive change of

pace for Quint Jefferson in the backfield. So, again, the main thing here is that there is no quarterback. And I'm all in on this for the Browns. Do not, you know, if you want to take one in the fourth or fifth round, you know, maybe Garrett Nussmeier's falling and he's available in the fourth round, sure, go for it. But, for those premium picks, the first and second round, I would not be taking a quarterback. I want to save that for next year, go all in on Arch or whoever else is available in that draft, and just kind of continue building the foundation like they did this past year. So, if they were to realize the dream of

that mock draft scenario, what's the soonest you could envision them being a playoff team? Is it 2027? Yeah, I mean, I think that if you know, assuming that I'm correct in my valuation of most of these players, and the guys from last year continues to develop and uh build on what we saw from them last year, and they do get that quarterback at the top of next year's draft, cuz personally, you know, I T says they could be like a fringe playoff team maybe if everything hits. I think it'd be better for their future if they're not. Just a three-win team again, they can go get the quarterback and don't have to worry about it. with the way they built could build those remember the Browns were the team that was uh making the proposal to the draft

to trade picks five years into the future. So, I wonder if that's a working ahead thing. Like, "Listen, we want to make sure we get Arch." Um but yeah, I mean, I think that if they were to, you know, hit on all these picks, you have more cap space next year because you're finally starting to get out from under the Deshaun Watson contract. They're still going to hold some of those numbers for the next two years after, but it's not going to be like the $80 million cap hit that it has been for the last however many years. Um so, they'll be in a better cap situation, they'll have a good foundation for the roster, and then if they can drop the quarterback in then, yeah, maybe they could be a little more frisky in 2027. And then, the idea being

that by 2028, you're like you're pushing to be a playoff team. That's the dream, assuming that Arch doesn't pull on his uncle move and refuse to report to Cleveland.