So who else in the draft can do this?
If Jeremiyah Love of Notre Dame is still on the Board at 6th overall, I would strongly consider drafting him for the Browns. They would become one of the top rushing teams in the NFL by pairing him with Quinshon Judkins. If the Browns are bringing along a young quarterback, he will be facing eight in the box most of the time out of respect for the running game, and that makes the quarterback's job much easier.
If, however, Love is taken before sixth overall, my default plan would probably be to trade back a few spots while adding draft capital for 2027, similar to the 2025 trade in which the Browns added Mason Graham plus Jacksonville's number one in exchange for the second overall pick, which they used for talented but very raw Travis Hunter, the two-way player from Colorado.
The Browns' master plan should be to be ready to draft one of at least half a dozen legit quarterback Round 1 prospects in 2027. However, how do you know they don't have their guy already? They need to complete the process with their existing quarterback room (Shedeur, Gabriel and even Deshaun) before blowing it up and drafting a new quarterback. Mr. Haslam, do not, not, not draft another quarterback in 2026.
If you want to draft a guy near the top of any draft, you should be looking for a future All Pro, rather than looking for positional need. My belief is that Love is one of those guys. If you check out his film, we have not seen anyone with his ability to change directions since Greg Pruitt. In fact, he does things that even Greg Pruitt did not do, like hurdle opposing players. He also runs a 4.36 in the 40 yard dash. He's big enough and hits hard enough to run up the middle for tough yards. Paired with Quinshon Judkins, the Browns would be a threat to lead the NFL in rushing yards.
The Browns have a very good running back in Judkins, but the top rushing teams produce over 2500 rushing yards and that does not happen with just one 1000 yard back. The Browns did it when they had Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt. Going back farther, Kevin Mack and Earnest Byner were not a bad use of roster space either. By the way, in Todd Monken's Baltimore offense, Lamar Jackson had a down year (349 yards), but he got yards from Derrick Henry, Keaton Mitchell, and change-of-pace back Justice Hill. They wound up with 2662 yards. The Browns were 27th with 1649, more than 1000 fewer than the Ravens. Thus, Quinshon cannot get there by himself. We need to find another 1000 yards to compete with Baltimore in the ground game.
Now let's talk about quarterbacks. The consensus view is that there are two Round 1 QBs in the 2026 draft, and perhaps six in 2027. The master plan should be to stay with the current quarterback room of Shedeur Sanders, Deshaun Watson and Dillon Gabriel for 2026. Neither Sanders not Gabriel has had as much as half a season as starting quarterback, which is not nearly enough time, and thus it is totally inappropriate to give up on them before they are really getting started. As for Watson, thus far he has been allowed to pursue his fantasy of becoming a deep ball specialist with so so results. 9-10 as a starter is not horrible, however. Maybe if he returns to an offense that is heavy on Run Pass Option and short passes, he might become viable again. Let's see if Todd Monken can develop a quarterback, rather than just give up on all three men. If they decide to upgrade, it would make much more sense to look for someone in the 2027 draft rather than 2026.
What I don't want to see is the Browns give up on Shedeur and Gabriel and draft another quarterback in an early round in 2026, and then do it again in 2027. Including trades, since 2022 the Browns have invested six picks and $230 million on Deshaun Watson, one pick on Dorian Thompson Robinson, one pick on Gabriel, and two picks on Shedeur, for a total of 10 picks on quarterbacks in four years including three first round picks. This has got to slow down or the Browns will never build a legitimate team.
There are other NFL running backs in the draft, of course, but there may not be another one who justifies a first round pick. Thus if Love is gone, they might till the third or fourth round to select that running mate for Judkins.
If Love is off the board at pick six, I would probably try to trade back. Let's see if we can do another trade like the Jacksonville deal, in which we slide back a few places this year, and get an extra first round pick in 2027 (increasing the chances of being in position for a decent QB in next year's draft). The Browns need a dependable wide receiver and a tight end, and an offensive lineman is never a bad idea. They need to be selecting two first round picks per year for several years, at least until they pay down Deshaun's contract and stabilize their cap situation.
What would you do? Comment below.
