B-
Cleveland Browns
Simpson is the plan now, and the Browns grade out a B-.
by Christeca ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 10 picks
· 4 steals
· 1 reaches
They finally answered the question that shadows every other one. Ty Simpson is the Browns' quarterback, full stop. Solid and sensible more than spectacular: a B-.
The Ponds steal is the beam this whole class leans on. That edge rusher hole did not close this weekend, and it was the biggest one on the wall. They are betting Simpson proves the room right and everyone else wrong.
Good work on the whole, with edge rusher the one box left unchecked.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 6th pick they get a passer to set the clock by, though they paid up to get him. The biggest hole, addressed.
In pick 24 they get a true top target. Exactly the need they had to hit.
Emmanuel Pregnon at slot 39 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
They will replay D'Angelo Ponds at the Round 3 slot for years; that is how good the value is. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
They stopped a slide they were happy to see, landing Emmett Johnson in No. 107. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
By-the-book stuff, Dametrious Crownover at pick No. 141 squarely in line with his ranking. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
A market-rate interior defensive lineman, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Skyler Gill-Howard. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Value with a capital V on Malik Benson in Round 5, Pick 9, a genuine coup. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
They paid sticker price for Keyshaun Elliott in the 206th overall pick, and that is fine. It adds depth where they could use a little.
Diego Pavia in the 248th pick is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.