Browns mock draft 1.0: Pass rush addressed early, QB taken on Day 2

Mock drafts are difficult.

Theyre mostly about creating discussion and providing general analysis unless I get a couple of the Cleveland Browns picks right, in which case Ill relentlessly victory lap and constantly write about the importance of mock drafts.

With 10 weeks until the start of the draft and the Browns return to the first round for the first time since 2021, its an important time for a franchise that was operating like it had arrived but crashed hard in 2024.

With the Deshaun Watson experiment having failed miserably but continuing to chew up valuable salary-cap space, 2023 NFL Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett has requested a trade in the wake of a 3-14 season.

Advertisement The Browns dont want to accommodate Garretts trade request , but Ive been writing (and guessing) that theyll have to at some point.

An uncertain future is here, and Garrett has publicly and firmly stated that he doesnt believe the Browns are ready to win in 2025, which will be his ninth NFL season.

Even as the Browns resist the idea of moving Garrett, theyre taking calls and are probably positioned to at least ask for two first-round picks as part of a potential return.

GO DEEPER 2025 NFL Draft Big Board: Who are the top 100 prospects in this years class? It also seems like a bad year to need a quarterback early in the draft.

But if a team believes its found the right fit, it becomes nearly impossible to pass on a young passer.

Maybe the Browns would want mostly future picks if they did move Garrett, or maybe they have a quarterback (or quarterbacks) they like in this years class.

In either case, the guessing goes on.

Dane Brugler, The Athletic s NFL Draft guru, has said theres a very good chance quarterback-needy teams address other positions first and wait until the drafts second day to take a chance on a quarterback.

Cleveland is in line for a bunch of picks on the drafts final day, but it also has many needs it would like to fill for 2025 and beyond on the first two days.

Future mock drafts might project trades and more specific targeting of team needs, but this first version is introductory and based on the picks the Browns have before the start of the player movement period and the new league year.

After the NFL Scouting Combine, the team will know more about the full draft class.

Once the player movement period begins in mid-March, well have a better understanding of the Browns immediate roster priorities.

Were working on the assumption via Over the Cap that the Browns will get two compensatory sixth-round picks and a compensatory seventh-rounder, likely the final pick of the draft.

The Browns already have three sixth-round choices of their own, and compensatory picks and the final draft order should be announced soon.

Advertisement For now, we only know pick numbers in rounds 1-3.

Clevelands fifth-round pick is via Detroit from Novembers ZaDarius Smith trade, so it will be late in the fifth round.

Its extra third-round pick comes from Octobers trade of Amari Cooper to Buffalo.

Round 1, No.

2: Abdul Carter, Edge, Penn State I exited the haze of a miserable 2024 season believing the Browns needed to take a quarterback early in the first round and move forward.

It still might happen, and Id understand if it does.

But nothing Ive seen, heard or read to this still-early point in the pre-draft process tells me that this quarterback class has multiple prospects worthy of going in the top five, even with the importance of the position and the number of teams seeking long-term answers.

So, Garrett or no Garrett, Im projecting that the Browns will select Carter at No.

2.

That assumes either Travis Hunter or Cam Ward goes No.

1, and it fits what I currently believe the Browns blueprint will be: veteran quarterback in March, second-day quarterback in the draft.

Specifically, the consensus opinion is that No.

2 is just too early for any team to select Shedeur Sanders .

Carter isnt Garrett, but hes a blue-chip prospect at a premium position.

In his updated top 100, Brugler ranks Ward No.

15, Sanders No.

25 and the next quarterback doesnt hit the list until Jaxson Dart at No.

57.

Hunter is Bruglers No.

1 player, and Carter is No.

2.

GO DEEPER Browns big board: Who is worth considering with the No.

2 pick? Round 2, No.

33: Josh Conerly Jr., OT, Oregon This is an Andrew Berry regime pick: Conerly is 21, athletic and still developing, and hed be slated to become the long-term replacement for Jedrick Wills Jr.

five years after Cleveland selected Wills in the first round.

The Browns have to address offensive tackle (and the offensive line as a whole), and the top of the second round seems like a good place to find a potential long-term starter.

Advertisement Round 3, No.

67: Tyler Shough, QB, Louisville Shough will turn 26 shortly after his rookie season begins.

But a year after Bo Nix, 24, pushed the Denver Broncos to the playoffs, teams that believe in Shough wont be intimidated by his age.

Shough was the best thrower at the Senior Bowl and is a potential fit in a Kevin Stefanski-run Browns offense as a traditional pocket passer.

Brugler recently called Shough the most intriguing potential Day 2 quarterback prospect.

Round 3, No.

94: Joshua Farmer, DT, Florida State Defensive tackle is another area of uncertainty for Cleveland and an area of strength in this draft class.

Dalvin Tomlinson and Shelby Harris are potential salary-cap cuts, while 2024 rookie Mike Hall Jr.

suffered a knee injury in the season finale.

Brugler wrote that Farmer is an explosive mover and attacks gaps like a bull in a China shop.

He sounds like a fit for Jim Schwartzs attack-style defense.

Round 4: Shemar James, LB, Florida The Browns probably have to think about the future at linebacker even if Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah can return from his neck injury to play in 2025.

Owusu-Koramoahs status isnt known, but the Browns like speed and range at linebacker.

James was clocked as the seventh-fastest player at any position during Senior Bowl practices with a top speed of 20.7 mph.

Round 5: Kalel Mullings, RB, Michigan Mullings was playing linebacker as recently as 2022.

Hes certainly not afraid of contact as a runner, and the Browns will be adding to their running back room in this draft.

They need help at wide receiver and tight end, too, so its going to be interesting to see how the folks in charge prioritize the teams long list of needs.

See why a trade-down in the first round makes sense? Round 6: Luke Kandra, G, Cincinnati After beginning his career at Louisville, the Cincinnati native transferred to his hometown school for his final two college seasons.

Kandra is an older player hes married and has an MBA and his physical style fits what Cleveland has sought in interior offensive linemen.

Longtime backup guard Michael Dunn is a free agent and 2024 rookie Zak Zinter didnt play much last season.

Round 6: Isaac TeSlaa, WR, Arkansas TeSlaa played two seasons at Arkansas after transferring from Division II Hillsdale College.

He is a big (6-foot-3) and athletic outside receiver prospect who showed the ability to make plays downfield during Senior Bowl practices.

With Cooper departed and years of bad drafting at the position, I expect the Browns to add a veteran receiver via trade or free agency.

Round 6: Gavin Bartholomew, TE, Pittsburgh Theres a good chance the Browns address one of Stefanskis favorite positions in either the third or fourth round, but in this mock, we chose differently.

Its considered a good tight end draft class, and Cleveland coaches saw Bartholomew up close at the Senior Bowl.

GO DEEPER 2025 NFL Mock Draft: After Super Bowl LIX, how might first three rounds look? Round 6: R.J.

Oben, Edge, Notre Dame Obens father, Roman, played left tackle for the Browns in the early 2000s.

Oben was not invited to the combine but participated in the Senior Bowl even after Notre Dame played four postseason games.

With Garretts future uncertain and Ogbo Okoronkwo potentially becoming a salary-cap cut, the Browns could look to restock their edge rush group.

Advertisement Round 6: Kurtis Rourke, QB, Indiana Rourke played through a second ACL tear last fall while pushing Indiana to the College Football Playoff.

The injury was discovered after the season, and Rourke had surgery in January.

With 12 picks, consider this a draft-and-stash situation and a further investment in the games most important position.

Round 7: Maxen Hook, S, Toledo The Browns will be remaking their safety group, and Hook could contribute immediately on special teams.

(Top photo of Abdul Carter: Scott Taetsch / Getty Images).

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