The Cleveland Browns had another disappointing season, finishing 5-12 and dead last in the AFC North for the second straight year. Most notably, they started three different quarterbacks for extended stretches, which would suggest they should consider drafting a new one in the upcoming NFL Draft.
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However, there was another area of the team that was just as problematic as the quarterback position, if not worse. The porous offensive line only compounded the struggles under center. In fact, Cleveland allowed 51 sacks last season, the seventh-most in the NFL.
According to sources, the Browns are now planning to draft an offensive lineman to address the weakness. That’s why ESPN’s Field Yates projected they will select Utah offensive tackle Spencer Fano with the sixth overall pick.
“Fano would provide them a tackle to build around. He is an extremely talented player who started the past two seasons at right tackle. Fano has light and nimble feet to match and mirror edge rushers, which contributed to him allowing zero sacks this past season and only one the year before,” Yates wrote in his Mock-Draft article.
If his skill set can transfer to the NFL, Fano would be a great pick for the Browns. Yates added that he will need to get bigger, but the Utah product has the ideal framework to become a dominant tackle. He would start on day one in Cleveland.
Thanks to the Jacksonville Jaguars trading up for Travis Hunter last season, the Browns also have a second first-round pick this year. It will be the 24th pick, and Yates believes they will be looking into a wide receiver. He has them selecting Denzel Boston out of Washington.
Boston is also a good player. He spent all four seasons at UW and combined for 20 touchdowns over the past two years. He’s more of a physical wideout who specializes in winning jump balls. Think Mike Williams, Courtland Sutton, or even George Pickens as stylistic comparisons.
However, it would be somewhat surprising to see the Browns pass on drafting a quarterback. It would suggest they may still be high on Shedeur Sanders’ potential. At the same time, it would also reflect how weak this incoming class of college quarterbacks appears to be.
Outside of Fernando Mendoza (projected to go first overall), most QB prospects in this draft feel like a risk. In his mock draft, Yates projects the second quarterback off the board to be Alabama’s Ty Simpson, going No. 21 to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Simpson has significant question marks regarding his decision-making, though the Steelers are desperate for any quarterback with even a glimmer of upside.
That said, the Browns could be prioritizing reinforcements along the offensive line and at wide receiver rather than moving on from Sanders at quarterback. They may still take a flyer on a player in the later rounds, as they previously did with Shedeur and Dillon Gabriel.
Ultimately, we’ll have to wait and see how the team approaches the draft. They have several holes on their offensive depth chart and could use help across the board. With one of the best defenses in the NFL already in place, a few key additions could position them to make a legitimate playoff push.
