Dawgs By Nature
Cleveland is in the running to have the top selection in the 2025 NFL Draft. Which choice would benefit the team the most?
The Cleveland Browns open the second half of their season on Sunday against the New Orleans Saints.
The remaining eight games in the latest disappointing season will focus on evaluating some of the younger players on the roster, perhaps a business decision or two from some players, and, possibly even adding to the current win total.
That last part is worth noting because the Browns will have a selection in the first round of the NFL Draft for the first time since 2021 now that they have paid off the trade compensation for quarterback Deshaun Watson.
Cleveland enters this week’s slate of games amid a cluster of five teams with two wins to their credit, including the Tennessee Titans, Las Vegas Raiders, New York Giants, and Jacksonville Jaguars.
While there is still a lot of football left to be played, the Browns are facing a schedule that includes two games against the Pittsburgh Steelers, and matchups with the Kansas City Chiefs, Denver Broncos, and Baltimore Ravens. These teams are currently a collective 18 games over .500.
The potential for a rough couple of months leaves the Browns in the very real position of winding up with the No. 1 overall selection in the 2025 NFL Draft. And if that happens, general manager Andrew Berry will have several options to ponder.
Cleveland needs to hit the reset button on the quarterback position, but there are enough doubts about the expected quarterback group of Cam Ward, Shedeur Sanders, and Jalen Milroe that Berry may not feel comfortable selecting one of them.
The Browns will also be in the market for an offensive tackle and a defensive end, but unless the next Myles Garrett or Joe Thomas materializes during the pre-draft process, that may not be the best use of the top pick.
The best option might be to trade down and accumulate as much additional draft capital as possible to begin the process of restocking the roster after three years without a first-round pick.
That is the move that *The Athletic’*s Nick Baumgardner is advocating for in his look at the best options for the teams in play for the No. 1 overall pick (the article is paywalled):
I’m not even going to give the Browns another option, because they’d need to move this pick — even if they can’t land an all-time haul and just drop down a spot or two. The Browns have too many needs in too many areas, plus they are in an absolutely hellacious situation with Deshaun Watson. They cannot add a QB at No. 1 in April, and Campbell is the only OT in this class worth thinking about that high.
Cleveland is back in the first round for the first time since the disastrous Watson trade. Rather than immediately putting themselves back behind the eight ball, the Browns should...
