Cleveland is fighting for second place like everyone else. The runaway winner for 2025 “Where were you when?” sports moment of the year is the Luka Doncic trade. It’s probably the winner in the all-time contest. Shams literally had to tweet out “This is real” because planet earth just assumed he’d been hacked. So while the winner was decided on February 1st, second place is up for grabs.
The Browns and Jaguars have a huge lead on all yet-to-happen events for the remainder of 2025 when it the silver medal. Where were you when Cleveland traded away the rights to Travis Hunter? The trade seemingly came out of nowhere. Subsequent reporting from Michael Silver informed us that James Gladstone and Andrew Berry had been lurking in the shadows for 17 days leading up to the draft. They had agreed to the deal with two contingencies long before any inkling hit the Twittershpere. Even before the confirmation alert went out following the Titans selection of Cam Ward, there were only vague murmurs of “Jacksonville is trying” before the draft commenced.
No one took it that seriously. Were the Browns really going to forfeit the right to draft an unprecedented unicorn? Hunter won’t be the first ever two-way player, but we’ve never seen anything like him in modern times. If you get an All-Pro level, full-time player on one side of the ball and a WR2/CB2 level player for 20-25 plays per game on the other side, we’re talking about the most valuable non-quarterback in league history. But the Jaguars offered a quarterback level bounty, and despite being starved for elite, impact talent, Cleveland decided it was an offer they couldn’t refuse.
As soon as the trade details were released it seemed all too obvious what the Browns were planning: Let’s just punt on quarterback in 2025 and better position ourselves to strike in 2026. Another nugget from Silver’s reporting, along with multiple draft picks Cleveland made on Day 2 all but confirmed the initial inclination.
You Got Us Into This Mess
The exact parameters of the trade are:
The Jaguars received #2, #104, #200
The Browns received #5, #36, #126, 2026 first rounder
Brass tax, Cleveland got a high second rounder and a future first to move down three slots. If you read my NFL Draft Multiverse article, you’ll know that is the exact price the Browns or Giants would have had to pay the Titans in order to get up to 1 in a fair market deal based on historical precedent for quarterback trades. Taking a quarterback trade for a non-quarterback is objectively good business.
But you don’t just make a franchise altering decision like this without approval from the highest level of an organization. Berry and Kevin Stefanski may have felt as if they were entering 2025 on at least a warm seat. What do they care about a future first if they think they won’t be around to use it? Are they really going to hand over Travis Hunter if they think all they’re getting out of it (personally) is an extra second rounder?
In Silver’s report of how the trade came together, he said after both sides had agreed to the framework there were two contingencies for the deal. The first was the trade had to happen while Cleveland was on the clock, and Cam Ward had to not be available. The second was that each franchise needed ownership approval.
Owners are business people, not football people. Often enough they mandate orders to their braintrust with the best business idea in mind, even if it undermines the football aspect. Do you think Mason Graham is going to sell as many jerseys as Hunter would have? Do you think the Browns are going to receive as much buzz, ink spilled in the press, and tweets and TikToks sent out to planet earth eliciting as many eyeballs and interactions now that they have Graham instead of Hunter? No, they’re not. There has to be a reason Jimmy Haslam OK’d this.
Haslam went in front of a microphone during the owners meetings in late March and took responsibility for the Deshaun Watson debacle. “A big swing and a miss” he called it. That trade and contract has hamstrung the franchise for the past three seasons and will continue to do so for the next two as well. What matters most though is the Haslam went on public record saying he’s to blame for this disaster.
In order to get Haslam to sign off on this deal Stefanksi and Berry had to of sold him on it somehow. I’d bet they pointed to his comments at the owners meetings. “You got us into this mess, so if you want us to fix it it’s going to take time, and we need to know we’ll be around to see it through. Now here’s the plan.” The plan, ostensibly, was to punt on a lackluster quarterback class in 2025 and well position themselves to strike in 2026, another year closer to ridding themselves of Watson’s contract with an aticipated better crop of quarterbacks. Let’s just roll with Kenny Pickett this season and be aggressive next April. This is the best way out of our current situation.
Of course, this is speculation on my part. It’s just a theory. But if you want some more empirical evidence just look at what Cleveland did with their four Day 2 picks. Selecting at 33 and 36 (the first and fourth picks of the second round) they passed on Tyler Shough, Jalen Milroe, and Shedeur Sanders. They could have hand selected who they wanted out of the three and they passed entirely, twice. At the top of the third round Milroe and Sanders remained available and the Browns passed, again.
At the end of the third Milroe was gone but Sanders remained. Instead the team opted for Dillon Gabriel. Gabriel profiles as a career backup in the NFL. It really looks like Cleveland wasn’t interested in bringing someone in to compete for their starting job in 2025, but they did want to bring in their long-term backup, sick of playing quarterback roulette the last few years due to loads of injuries and a genuine hatred of Jameis Winston.
They had a plan. A logical, sensible plan. They sold their patience-requiring vision to ownership and got a seal of approval. It’s commendable given how much testicular fortitude it requires to pass up drafting Travis Hunter and telling a billionaire “this is your fault so don’t take it out on me.” The Browns created a “where were you when?” moment to kick off the weekend fireworks. Then they spent the rest of their weekend completely botching the golden opportunity they created for themselves.
Who Needs a Supporting Cast Anyway?
Even if you think I’m full of shit, just humor me for the rest of this article. Let’s pretend I’m right and Cleveland did all this to go after a quarterback in 2026 and they were going to just trot out Kenny Pickett for 17 games this year. If this entire thing is predicated on striking next year in a better quarterback class, wouldn’t you have spent 2025 building the infrastructure to already be in place for Rookie QB X in 2026?
Instead, they spent the draft selecting a defensive tackle, a linebacker, two running backs, a tight end, and two quarterbacks. It gets even worse when you look at where they took each position. Let’s go top to bottom:
I don’t want to overly criticize the team taking Graham at five. He was the third or fourth best player in the draft, depending on how high you’re willing to rank a running back. He clearly must of been the highest graded player on their board. There’s nothing wrong with the pick. But you have to wonder if they would have been better served taking Armand Membou.
I’m not going to sit here and call Jack Conklin washed. If he plays another three to five years at a high level no one should be surprised. But I think it’s fair to point out he’s entering his age 31 season, has played in 13 of 34 games the last two years and 34 of 68 games the last four seasons, and is entering the final year of his contract (even if an extension is likely since theres four void years on the deal).
Over on the left side the team has Cornelius Lucas and Dawand Jones. Jones has struggled during his two years in the NFL and while Lucas has been a reliable starter for awhile now, he’s entering his age 34 season and has two years remaining on his deal. Nothing about this trio should have prevented Cleveland from spending a premium pick on an offensive tackle.
Now if you want to say “look, Graham was just too good to pass up,” then fine, that’s fair. But what about the rest of the draft? The Browns didn’t take a single offensive lineman, let alone tackle (they also somehow didn’t draft a receiver). There was a consensus top eight offensive lineman in this draft composed of five tackles and three guards. All eight were off the board by the time Cleveland was on the clock at 33. I’m as anti trade-up as anyone, but Josh Conerly Jr. and Josh Simmons were the 29th and 32nd picks, respectively, and were the last of the eight off the board. Oh, they’re also both left tackles.
Washington took Conerly at 29. Who knows what interest they had in moving down but pretty much 85% of the NFL leaked ahead of Round 1 they were “open” to trading back, and the Commanders figured a likely candidate as they entered the draft short handed on picks thanks to the Deebo and Tunsil trades. How much would it have really cost the Browns to go from 33 to 29? Based on how these things have gone in the past, a 4th rounder. Would that not have been worth it to get one of the last tackles left in the top tier?
But ok, fine, they didn’t trade up. It’s not the end of the world. However, they spent their two valuable second rounders on a linebacker and a running back, two positions that are as far down the positional value totem pole as you can get.
Round Two
Let’s start with the running back at 36. I don’t hate Quinshon Judkins. In fact I believe he’s going to be good. Cleveland just isn’t at a point in it’s roster development to spend such a premium resource on a running back, and that’s before accounting for the 2025 running back class. What was heralded as a historic running back class provided teams an opportunity to bypass using high draft picks on the position because they could confidently wait and get a talented running at a future point. The Browns proceeded to prove this point THEMSELVES when they double dipped at the position in the fourth round with Dylan Sampson. The Athletic Consensus Big Board is not infallible, but for what it’s worth Sampson ended as the 60th player on the big board and Cleveland took him at pick 126, while for context Judkins is the 46th player whom they took at 36. I’m not saying Judkins was a reach at 36 because of this, I’m saying it’s managerial malpractice that they took a running back at 36.
Prior to this they took LB Carson Schwesinger at 33. In a vacuum Schwesinger is worthy of the 33rd pick, but how on earth is this the best long-term selection for rebuilding this franchise from the ground up? If there’s a single position on the Browns’ roster where they don’t need help it’s linebacker. I get it’s an oversimplification to say they have JOC, Devin Bush, and Jordan Hicks, but the three of them have that position group in better shape than any other grouping on the roster, not to mention it’s a lower value position (which is why they don’t go high in the first round or in abundance in the first two rounds).
So what did Cleveland pass up by taking a linebacker and running back at 33 and 36? If we look at help-the-2026-QB positions first, there’s a few different combinations Cleveland could have walked away with. The only receivers off the board were Tet McMillan, Emeka Egbuka, and Matthew Golden. Again, The Athletic Big Board isn’t the holy grail, but available at 33 were Luther Burden (25) and Jayden Higgins (44). They were also the next two receivers selected with picks 34 (Higgins) and 39 (Burden).
With the top five tackles off the board the Browns would have had to reach in order to tap into the next tier of prospects. However, if you’re going to reach you may as well do it at a premium position. Tackles, like quarterback, are commonly pushed up the board due to simple supply and demand dynamics. The next offensive tackle off the board as well as the next one listed on the Big Board is Aireontae Ersery. He went with the 48th pick so Cleveland could have taken their preference between Burden and Higgins at 33 then come back with Ersery at 36.
Or they could have dived into the Tier 2 tight end pool. Everyone had Tyler Warren and Colston Loveland as Tier 1 tight ends and top 15, if not 10, prospects. Mason Taylor and Elijah Arroyo were universally seen as the 3rd and 4th best tight ends in the draft and top 50 players, with Taylor commonly being viewed as TE3 and a top 40 player. If we stay with Graham at five, the Browns could have taken two between the wide receivers, tight ends, and Ersey.
The only explanation for the Browns taking Graham, Schwesinger, Judkins, Harold Fannin Jr., and Dylan Sampson is they strictly went best player available and did not deviate. Ok, so even if we want to play that game I do not understand how edge Donovan Ezeiruaka (22 on the big board) was not one of these two selections. I get staying way from Mike Green (14 on the big board) as most of the league passed on him twice for good reason. But Cleveland opted for a linebacker over a pass rusher, let alone a pass rusher that was universally viewed as the superior prospect.
So even in their best player available strategy the Browns could have walked away with Graham, Ezieruaka at 33 (22 on the big board, premium position) and Burden at 36 (25 on the big board, premium position) instead of Schwesinger (43, linebacker) and Judkins (46, running back).
Let’s pause here and look at the three top 36 picks in totality before moving on to the rest of the draft. Cleveland could have ended up with a three person combination of Graham, Membou, Ezeiruaka, Burden, Higgins, Taylor, Arroyo, and Ersery. If we stick with Graham at five they could have just taken Ezeiruaka because of the value then grabbed Burden to hit the “let’s play for next year strategy,” as outlined above. Or if we stick with Graham at five and use 33 and 36 planning for 2026 the team could have had Burden and either Taylor or Ersery. Conversely, if you take Membou at five you can have the value option of Membou, Ezeiruaka, and Burden, or the all-about-2026 option of Membou, Burden, and Taylor. And none of this accounts for taking Graham at five and trading up for Conerly or Simmons before coming back with Ezeiruaka, Burden, or Taylor at 36.
That’s a lot of combinations, but let’s boil it down to one. Since we’re looking at all this through the lens of building an infrastructure to already be intact by the time the team spends their first rounder on a quarterback in 2026, the Browns could have come out of the first two rounds with Membou, Burden, and Taylor. Do you not feel significantly better about that trio than Graham, Schwesinger, and Judkins in terms of helping their rookie quarterback next year?
To note, the Jets are receiving loads of praise for coming out of the first two rounds with Membou and Taylor. Cleveland could have had that, plus Burden or Higgins.
Round Three and Beyond
The Browns took TE Fannin with their first selection in the third round, finally something that helps Mr. 2026 QB. I actually like this pick, despite lamenting them for not taking Taylor or Arroyo atop round two. Had they started out with Graham, one of Conerly/Simmons/Ersery, and Burden, Fannin would have been a perfect cherry on top. They then took Gabriel at the end of the third which I only dislike based on their actual draft haul from the first two rounds. The idea of bringing in a quarterback to be your long-term backup is sound strategy. But when you spent the last 30 hours lighting picks on fire you should probably just take an offensive tackle or receiver and see how it pans out.
In the forth they got the aforementioned enormous value in Sampson. It’s a great pick in a vacuum, but for god’s sake why is this team double dipping at running back? How is hitting this position twice THAT important? Two running backs selected and a combined zero offensive lineman and wide receivers. Marijuana is a Schedule 1 banned substance in America but somehow this is legal.
I really, really don’t want to talk about Shedeur but it would be journalistic (Janet voice: not a journalist) negligence to omit him. I muted “Shedeur Sanders” and “Shedeur” on twitter Saturday afternoon as I just couldn’t take it anymore. This discourse around this is insufferable. It seems pretty clear that his attitude and demeanor, along with the presence of his father, turned off every team in the league. It was a headache they didn’t deem worth it.
I also don’t want to read too much into a seven second video clip but, yea, it really seems like ownership stepped in and demanded the team take Sanders. I guess Jimmy just can’t help himself.
However, it’s objectively good value. Sanders is a second round talent that they got in the fifth. It’s entirely plausible he does well in Stefanski’s system (worse quarterbacks have) and develops into an average or below-average starter in the league (with a tiny chance he ends up a real top 12 franchise guy). But now Stefanski and Berry have to deal with him and Coach Prime next year when they draft his replacement in the top 3. Going into the draft I thought Cleveland would take Shough at 33 even if Sanders was there, if for no other reason than it’s a lot easier to move on from Shough next year than it is to move on from Shedeur and the circus that’s going to invite (I can already see the Deion tweets in my head).
Massively Missed Opportunity
The Browns got bold. They handed Travis Hunter over to the Jaguars because they had a two year vision for how to dig themselves out of the mess ownership dug them. Ownership bought into the plan and told them to go for it. The crown jewel of the plan is whatever quarterback they draft in 2026. Instead of spending the draft building the support system for next year’s rookie, the Cleveland braintrust didn’t take a single offensive lineman or wide receiver, but double tapped the running back position and spent the 33rd pick on a linebacker. Even stipulating to taking Graham at five because he was just too good to pass up, every single pick there after should be been something designed to help next year’s rookie.
Once again, just to make sure everyone is counting correctly at home, in 2025 the Browns drafted two running backs, one linebacker, one defensive tackle, zero offensive lineman, and zero wide receivers. Next year when we spend the entire draft cycle discussing how Cleveland is obviously going to take a quarterback in the top 3 and they need to use Jacksonville’s first and their own second rounder to get the new kid some help, remember this article.
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