B-
Cleveland Browns
The Browns robbed the room for Hall. Final grade: B-.
by JMZajc65 ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 4 steals
· 1 reaches
You build a draft on nights like this. TJ Hall had no business being available in the 248th overall pick, and the Browns did the only sane thing and turned in the card.
The quarterback spot stays a question, and it was the one they most needed an answer at. The cost of the Koziol reach is exactly the players who went right after him. Value over need was the throughline, for better and worse.
All told, a solid class that does its job everywhere but quarterback.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick 6 they get a green-dot type in the middle. Need was not the driver here.
In the 24th overall pick they get protection for the quarterback at fair value. A clean fit for the roster.
No edge and no loss on Chris Bell in the Round 2 slot; it is a wash and a sensible one. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
A quiet steal in slot 70: Germie Bernard for less than the market said. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
A tidy bit of business in pick No. 107, where Chandler Rivers graded well above the range. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Nothing to complain about; Chris McClellan went a shade earlier than his grade, which is fine. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
They paid up for Tanner Koziol at No. 149 when waiting would have done the job. A need, and now a little less of one.
Eric McAlister slipping to Round 6, Pick 25 is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
TJ Hall at pick 248 is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.