Another Monday is here and that means another mock draft has arrived.
It is a quiet time for the Cleveland Browns right now, who will have members of the coaching staff at the Senior Bowl this week helping out there. They say the draft starts in Mobile, so we aren’t all that far from the draft.
Cleveland finally has a first-round pick again and there has been plenty of discussion of what they are going to do with it. In today’s mock draft, the Browns take an alternate route than expected.
Round 1, Pick 2: Colorado WR/CB Travis Hunter
The thinking here is that the Tennessee Titans choose to select Penn State DE Abdul Carter as the No. 1 overall pick. The quarterbacks fall down the board and neither team with a top-two pick believes they’re worthy of the selection. With that, the Browns land a generational talent as a result.
Hunter can be a very good player in the NFL on offense. It is going to be up to the team to figure out how he can be used, but there are options. Cleveland could have Hunter as a full-time cornerback and play partially on offense. On the other side, the Browns could have Hunter as a full-time wideout and out on defense at crucial times.
In 2024 at Colorado, Hunter caught 15 touchdowns and had 1,258 yards receiving. Then on defense, the Heisman winner made four interceptions. I have zero worries about Hunter not being a very good NFL player.
Round 2, Pick 33: Ole Miss QB Jaxson Dart
Cleveland doesn’t take one of the top quarterbacks and instead, they slide down the board. The two quarterbacks that I would consider at the No. 33 pick would be Dart and Alabama’s Jalen Milroe. Either one could be players that need to sit and learn before eventually being thrown out there.
Dart was efficient with the ball over three years starting with the Rebels. Not turning the ball over is key for HC Kevin Stefanski and he could be someone to mold for the future. Cleveland would sign a veteran to start the season in this scenario.
Round 3, Pick 67; Ohio State RB Quinshon Judkins
The Browns need to add more youth at the running back position even if they opt to bring back Nick Cbubb following another serious injury. The good thing for Cleveland is that this upcoming draft is loaded at running back.
Judkins comes out of Ohio State where he crossed 1,000 yards and split carries with TreVeyon Henderson. The Buckeye star spent his first two years at Ole Miss where he combined for over 2,700 rushing yards in two seasons. Judkins is a powerful running back who can play on all three downs.
Round 3, Pick 94: Tennessee DL Omar Norman-Lott
Cleveland needs to continue to add depth on both the edge and the interior of the defensive line. Last year’s second-round pick Mike Hall Jr. going down in the final regular season was a blow to what was a rough season for him. Hall was very good when he was on the field, still, Cleveland needs to continue to add youth there.
Norman-Lott is a bit undersized but is a good pass rusher from the interior and has shown that each of the last four years. Norman-Lott played in 44 games over five seasons and totaled 89 tackles and 13.5 sacks in college.
