7-round mock draft: How the Browns can rebuild beyond the Deshaun Watson albatross

“We took a big swing and miss with Deshaun. We thought we had the quarterback, we didn’t, and we gave up a lot of draft picks to get him. So we’ve got to dig ourselves out of that hole. [The trade] was an entire organization decision… so hold us accountable.”

Congratulations to Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam, who finally publicly acknowledged at the recent NFL owners meetings what everybody else already knew – the Deshaun Watson trade/signing was one of the worst transactions in sports history. We don’t need to get heavy into all the issues both on and off the field here – our friends here at Dawgs By Nature have you more than covered from soup to nuts, and they should all get hazard pay for having to do it.

So, with Watson on the roster in the near term as the ultimate salary cap albatross, how do the Browns get past it? They did so quite admirably in 2023, with an 11-6 regular-season record before running out of gas against the Houston Texans in the Wild Card round.

The 2024 season was obviously more problematic. Watson regressed from below-average to absolutely putrid when he was on the field, and Good Joe Flacco wasn’t walking through that door. Instead, we got the Jameis Winston Wild West Variety Show. Perhaps even more distressing (and certainly more surprising) was that the defense fell apart. A Jim Schwartz-led unit that finished second in Defensive DVOA in 2023 went splat all the way down to 25th last season.

Which is how you go from 11-6 to 3-14 in a big hurry.

The good news for the Browns and their faithful (and we do mean faithful) fans is that the draft is right around the corner, and that’s where hope springs eternal, even in Berea. The other good news is that the franchise is finally past the yoke of the first-round picks given to the Texans in the Watson deal, so there’s a full slate of picks to discuss.

If you are general manager Andrew Berry and head coach Kevin Stefanski, beyond locking Haslam in a shed until mid-May, what are the best ways to get your team back in the swing of things, even though your overall salary cap is shredded to a point over the next couple of years by that historical whiff? The draft is the best possible way, especially since the Browns had to pay the Myles Garrett “I’m fed up with this crap” tax to keep their best player relatively happy.

So, let’s put our GM hats on, fire up the PFF Mock Draft Simulator, and see if we can’t course-correct the Browns in one draft. No problem, right?

(All advanced metrics courtesy of Pro Football Focus and Sports Info Solutions).

Round 1

1.2: Abdul Carter, EDGE, Penn State

We already know that Carter is an absolute speed freak to the quarterback from the edges of the defensive line, but beyond the whole “Wearing No. 11 for Penn State” thing, there are reasons that comparisons to Micah Parsons work. Like Parsons, Carter can get to the quarterback as a rusher outside the guards, and as a blitzer from linebacker depth.

Moreover, Jim Schwartz prefers to get after the quarterback without blitzing – he wants it to happen with four on the floor. In 2024, the Browns rushed four on 73% of their snaps; in 2023, it was 72%.

Yes, Travis Hunter would be an interesting choice here for all kinds of reasons (Cleveland needs reinforcements at both receiver and cornerback), but one must also consider that after the Browns traded Za’Darius Smith to the Detroit Lions last Nov. 5, Cleveland’s pressure rate fell from 39.7% to 36.9%, the sack rate dropped from 8.8% to 6.1%, the opponent completion percentage went up from 57.0% to 66.5%, and the opponent Passing EPA went from 0.04 to 0.1. As Defensive EPA is better when it’s negative, that’s not a plus for Schwartz’s defense.

Who do the Browns currently have as Myles Garett bookends? Ogbo Okoronkwo is the best guy in a small pool, and that’s being generous. The quickest way for Cleveland to re-establish the defensive dominance it had in 2023 is to get Carter in the building, and let him eat as Garrett’s new best buddy.

Round 2

2.33: Luther Burden III, WR, Missouri

I’ve seen some mocks in which the Browns trade up to the late first round to select Shedeur Sanders, and I’m not at all opposed to that. The late first round is about where I think Sanders should go, and no, Kenny Pickett is not the long-term answer. But this is a franchise that knows perhaps better than any other what happens when you overcook a quarterback’s value, so let’s err on the side of caution here.

Whomsoever does throw the football for the Browns in 2025 and beyond will need quality receivers, and right now, there’s a bit of a Jerry Jeudy and the Pips feel happening in that room. Fortunately for the Browns, it’s a loaded receiver class that allows for acquisition of just about any kind of target you want.

In this case, I’m giving Luther Burden to the Mystery Quarterback. At 6’0 and 204 pounds, Burden (who ran a 4.41 40-yard dash at the scouting combine) caught 61 passes on 81 targets in 2024 for 676 yards and six touchdowns. This after catching 86 passes on 120 targets for 1,209 yards and nine touchdowns in 2023. There were some obvious schisms last year between Burden and the team regarding the pliability and effectiveness of the Tigers’ passing game, but if I’m Kevin Stefanski, that doesn’t bother me at all. I’d rather have a guy who’s a bit of a jerk about the status quo, and Burden’s tape is nuanced enough to make it clear that he wasn’t deflecting blame.

Round 3

3.67: Quinshon Judkins, RB, Ohio State

Now that Nick Chubb is an unrestricted free agent, and there’s unfortunately justifiable concern about his future after catastrophic knee injuries, Cleveland’s running back depth chart consists of Jerome Ford and Pierre Strong Jr.

With all due respect to those fine gentlemen, that ain’t gonna feed the bulldog.

So, let’s keep things close and go with one of Ohio State’s two amazing running backs who each balled out in the Buckeyes’ natty season. And while TreVeyon Henderson is often portrayed as the lightning (speed) back to Quinshon Judkins’ thunder (power) attributes, I think people are selling Judkins short when they try to make it that simple. Yes, Judkins got 587 of his 1,067 rushing yards last season after contact, and yes, he forced 43 missed tackles on 193 carries, but this dude is far more than a straight-line plodding headbanger.

The 6’0, 221-pound Judkins proved that at the scouting combine when he ran a 4.48-second 40-yard dash with a 1.51-second 10-yard split, both of which are very good for a man his size.

So maybe NFL teams went back to the tape after that and took a second look at Judkins’ 17 runs of 15 or more yards last season? We’re imagining so. Judkins is also a more than passable receiver and blocker, so perhaps he’s the guy who can take the reins as the Browns’ primary back in 2025.

3.94: Kyle Williams, WR, Washington State

In 2024, Stefanski moved away from his preferred 12 and 13 personnel packages in favor of far more 11 personnel looks in which three receivers and one tight end were on the field, as opposed to two and three-tight end stuff. This was supposed to make Watson more comfortable in the offense, but we all know how that turned out.

I would expect Stefanski to diversify things more than he did in 2024. Last season, Cleveland ran 11 personnel 69% of the time, one of the league’s highest rates. They did so in both 3x1 and 2x2 formations, and they were as interesting as they could be with it given the obvious quarterback problems and the aforementioned lack of top-end talent among the receivers.

We’ve already given the Browns Luther Burden III, and now, let’s add to that the presence of Kyle Williams, who is the best pure separator in this draft class. If the Browns could put Jeudy, Burden, and this burner on the field at the same time… well, that 11 personnel thing might happen for the right reasons. This dude can scald cornerbacks with any intermediate and vertical route against just about any coverage at just about any time.

Round 4

4.104: Dillon Gabriel, QB, Oregon

Okay, angry Browns fans. Work with me here. Yes, I am the idiot who just gave your favorite team a 5’11 ⅛, 205-pound lefty quarterback (THAT’S supposed to solve the problem?!?!?), but I have reasons to do it.

First of all, you will hear at times about Gabriel that his overall stats at Oregon last season (326 of 451 for 3,854 yards, 30 touchdowns, six interceptions, and a passer rating of 114.6) were created by a spread offense in which Gabriel had a bunch of wide-open receivers against helpless defenders. The tape tells a different story more often than not. The only time Gabriel really has a problem making tight-window throws is when he’s hauling it deep from the pocket, and that’s common among shorter quarterbacks.

In a few key metrics last season, Gabriel was among the best FBS quarterbacks in 2024. He had the highest passer rating overall on passes of 20 or more air yards (131.9), passes under pressure (104.3), and passes over the middle outside the pocket (157.9), which is how short NFL quarterbacks from Drew Brees to Russell Wilson to Bryce Young have adjusted to not being able to see over the defensive behemoths in the pocket. And he was just about as good in his two seasons at Oklahoma before transferring to Oregon.

I’m not saying that Gabriel will be a lead-pipe lock or Day 1 starter in the NFL, but there’s more meat on the bone here than you may think.

Round 6

6.179: Jaylin Smith, CB, USC

Another reason for Cleveland’s defensive regression in 2024 beyond the lack of a post-Za’Darius Smith EDGE buddy for Myles Garrett was the dropoff in play in the cornerback room. Both Greg Newsome II and Martin Emerson Jr. had injury-riddled seasons in which their play was nowhere near what we saw in 2023, and Denzel Ward was affected to a point, as well. Maybe everything will be fine and back to normal in 2025, but just as you can never have too many pass rushers, you can never have too many cornerbacks. This is certainly true for a Browns defense that put five defensive backs onto the field on 542 opponent dropbacks, which led the NFL, and six defensive backs on 123 dropbacks, which ranked sixth.

With Newsome as the team’s primary slot corner and Emerson as the man who had more outside corner snaps than anybody else wearing a Browns uniform in 2024, maybe it’s a good idea to select a guy who has had reps in both places.

USC’s Jaylin Smith qualifies. Last season for the Trojans, the 5’10 ½, 187-pound Smith allowed 26 catches on 42 targets for 289 yards,83 yards after the catch, no touchdowns, two interceptions, one pass breakup, and an opponent passer rating of 62.5. 2024 was the season in which Smith made the move from slot to outside, and he may be better suited to that role as a pure press-match cornerback who will follow receivers through the route after beating them up at the line of scrimmage. Smith needs some work in his short-area coverage transitions, which is why he’ll be available on the third day, but over time, this could be a great marriage of player and scheme(s).

6.192: Ty Robinson, DL, Nebraska

Right now, the Browns look to be going with Maliek Collins and Shelby Harris as their top interior defensive linemen, which isn’t bad. But especially on a defense where the blitz isn’t a priority at all, you want as many interior disruptors as possible in order to throw fresh waves of terror at opposing quarterbacks and running backs. The Philadelphia Eagles reinforced this point in the Super Bowl when they made Patrick Mahomes’ life absolute hell without blitzing Mahomes once in the entire game.

So, let’s add some spice to the rice here with Nebraska’s Ty Robinson. The 6’5 ⅛, 288-pound Robinson impressed at the scouting combine, which had NFL teams going back to the tape, and that was a good thing for Robinson. Last season, he had six sacks, 42 total pressures, 25 solo tackles, and 28 stops, and he did it from every possible gap.

Robinson projects best as a straight-up three-technique tackle, and he looked a bit bigger than his combine weight on tape. He has a degree in nutrition and health sciences, so he won’t be mainlining Cheetos this offseason.

6.200: Kitan Crawford, DB, Nevada

Back to the secondary with this one. Last season for the Wolf Pack, the 5’10 ⅝, 202-pound Crawford allowed 17 catches on 30 targets for 186 yards, 60 yards after the catch, no touchdowns, two interceptions, five pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 47.4. Crawford has a lot of positional versatility to like – last season, he had over 300 snaps both in the box and as a free safety, and 177 snaps in the slot. Crawford’s NFL coaching staff will want to rein in his YOLO tendencies in coverage, but every defense should have at least one guy in coverage who’s a bit to the left of sane, and Crawford fits the bill there.

6.216: Oronde Gadsden II, TE, Syracuse

With the aforementioned shift to 11 personnel, the Browns have thought differently about their tight end depth. David Njoku is the obvious TE1, and after that, there’s a bit too much “meh” on the depth chart. If Kevin Stefanski wants to split the personnel difference and mix in more 12 personnel while still featuring all the receiver talent he picked up in this here delightful mock draft, Gadsden would be an interesting addition.

The son of the man who played receiver for the Miami Dolphins from 1998-2003 and caught Dan Marino’s final touchdown pass, Oronde Gadsden II brought in 73 passes last season on 103 targets for 934 yards and seven touchdowns. He’s more of a smooth mover at 6’4-plus and 243 pounds than someone who’s going to take the top off a defense with explosive speed, but he can get downfield and make things happen with his awareness of how to get open in small spaces.

Round 7

7.254: Eugene Asante, LB, Auburn

I recently got to watch tape with Asante, and I was impressed with his overall understanding of the game. The younger brother of Larry Asante, who played defensive back in the NFL from 2010-2015, the younger Asante can be a pure missile as an off-ball tackler, and there’s some edge and blitzing ability as well. Not that the Browns do that a ton, of course, but Asante can when it’s required, and he’d be an excellent rotational guy behind Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, Jordan Hicks, and Jerome Baker.

So, does this particular draft put the Browns back in contention? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.