Browns 2025 NFL draft class: Historical odds are no match for this group

Cleveland Browns GM Andrew Berry has a big hole to climb out of for many fans. Whether it is trading away QB Baker Mayfield, trading for QB Deshaun Watson (two obviously linked moves), the team’s losing record since he took over in 2020 or the generally limited NFL draft classes (much of which due to the Watson deal), Browns fans are not ready to give Berry his flowers.

No matter how good the 2025 NFL draft class has looked in the first three games of the season:

• DT Mason Graham has had elite pass-rush win rates and helped shore up the middle of the defensive line against the run
• LB Carson Schwesinger is all over the field and getting recognition as one of the top rookies in this year’s overall draft
• RB Quinshon Judkins hit the ground running in his first two games and already leads all rookie backs in rushing yards
• TE Harold Fannin Jr. is not only emerging as a versatile force who can create separation, but the film shows how much Cleveland’s offense uses him all over the field
• RB Dylan Sampson took a back seat when Judkins returned, but his Week 1 stat included eight receptions for 64 yards, showing he has the ability to make an impact when given a chance

The other two selections in this year’s NFL draft, QBs Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders, received the bulk of the attention all offseason but have not had much of a chance to prove anything, yet, for the Browns in 2025.

Barring some kind of huge setback or injury, Cleveland’s 2025 NFL draft class has four long-term starters already with a chance that one of the quarterbacks joins that list. Graham and Schwesinger should anchor the middle of the Browns defense for years to come, while Judkins and Fannin are key pieces of the offense. Historically, four quality starters from a draft class would be amazing. Add in where those players were drafted and Berry will have overcome huge odds:

Based on those numbers, Graham should have hit while the rest had less than a coin flip chance of becoming starters and are well on their way to achieving that. Turning the pick that would have been WR/CB Travis Hunter into two high-quality starters in Graham and Judkins would have been a good return. Adding a first-round pick in 2026 as a part of the value of the 2025 draft class could make that trade down from the second overall selection the point at which the fate of the team started to turn around.

Hall of Famer Joe Thomas might have known something when he pumped his fist while presenting a selection at this year’s draft:

Nothing is set in stone, as Cleveland fans are well aware, but the Browns 2025 NFL draft class looks to be historically good and gives the team a chance to build something special in the future.