The Cleveland Browns entered this offseason as one of the biggest trainwrecks in the league. The quarterback they paid an arm, a leg, and a kidney for was a big zero, and their best player, Myles Garrett, was asking out. But, over the past couple of months — especially during the 2025 NFL Draft — the tables have turned big time for the Browns.
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Cleveland had many needs and not enough picks to fill them, so they made a smart move and traded out of the No. 2 overall pick and down to No. 5. They did miss out on Travis Hunter, but they picked up the top DT in the class, Mason Graham, as well as a bevy of other draft capital.
The full trade with the Jacksonville Jaguars saw the Browns acquire the No. 5 pick, a second- and fourth-rounder this year, and a first-rounder in 2026. In return, they sent the No. 2 pick, plus fourth- and sixth-rounders this year. This set them up for a strong Day 2 showing in the Second and Third Rounds. And, according to PFF, the Browns have quietly had a “great” draft so far by following their gut, if not the best.
“One of the teams having a great draft so far is the Cleveland Browns. After trading back from the second overall pick, they ended up selecting Mason Graham. Graham’s production at Michigan is hard to ignore. He posted an overall grade above 90 in 2023 and 2024,” as explained in the PFF video.
That trade with the Jags gave them twice as many second-rounders as they had before, and they used them wisely. With the first pick of Day 2, they selected do-it-all middle linebacker Carson Schwesinger, who can drop into Tampa 2 defenses as well as rush the passer. Schwesinger and Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah lining up together on the inside is pretty exciting for the Dawg Pound.
With the Jags’ pick, they grabbed Ohio State bruiser Quinshon Judkins. He will likely replace long-time Pro Bowl RB Nick Chubb, who remains a free agent.
The Browns weren’t even close to finished on Day 2. For those that forgot, they’d traded wideout Amari Cooper to the surging Buffalo Bills last season, and part of the deal was sending Buffalo’s 2025 third-rounder to Cleveland. That meant that after two picks in the second, they got two more in the third.
They used their own third-rounder on a tight end, Harold Fannin Jr. He could pair well with David Njoku and form a two-TE security blanket for their other third-rounder, Oregon QB Dillon Gabriel. The jury is definitely out on Gabriel, but he’s a lot more exciting than Kenny Pickett and Joe Flacco.
In the end, they took five players in the first two days of the 2025 NFL Draft. If they hit on even half of them, those 48 hours will have had a massive and lasting impact on where this Browns team goes in the next few years.
The Browns are quietly having one of the best drafts in the league 👀 pic.twitter.com/rSl6K9m7WD
— PFF (@PFF) April 26, 2025
The Cleveland Browns did most of their draft damage on Day 1 and 2, which is exactly what you want. On Day 3, with Rounds 4-7 underway, the Browns have three picks: the 24th pick in the fourth round, the 30th in the fifth, and the 16th in the sixth. Even if they whiff on all of those, they still had one of the best draft showings in the NFL.
Additional note: The Browns just selected Shedeur Sanders in the fifth round, 144th overall. He’s the same QB who suffered an unprecedented slide down the draft board. It’s a solid pick, though we’re not sure why they chose him after Dillon Gabriel.
