D+
Cleveland Browns
The phones sank the Browns this weekend: D+.
by asf ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 14 picks
· 4 steals
· 3 reaches
The Browns treated their own grade as gospel and everyone else's as noise, spending the 248th overall pick on Squirrel White a full 157 spots early. A D+ that will need time and luck to look better.
The trade table is where this weekend went wrong. That running back hole did not close this weekend, and it was the biggest one on the wall.
If one pick saves this weekend, it is McNeil-Warren. It is a win-now wager, and the future is the stake.
Bottom line, they will need several of these picks to beat their grades just to break even, and running back is still a hole.
Pick-by-Pick
No edge and no loss on Makai Lemon in No. 6; it is a wash and a sensible one. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
In the 13th overall pick they get a potential shutdown corner. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
In pick No. 24 they get protection for the quarterback at fair value. A real need, handled.
Zion Young at the 39th pick is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
By-the-book stuff, Jacob Rodriguez at slot 70 squarely in line with his ranking. A minor itch, scratched.
Steal is underselling it; Emmanuel McNeil-Warren at the Round 3 slot is a heist with the alarm still ringing. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Ja'Kobi Lane in the 107th pick is a bargain the rest of the room will envy. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Nice patience on Jalon Kilgore, who had no business lasting to slot 108. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Gracen Halton in Round 4, Pick 11 is early enough to raise a brow, if not a full objection. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Value with a capital V on Eli Raridon in pick 146, a genuine coup. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Fair-plus on Dametrious Crownover, a quiet win that adds up over a draft. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
A real head-scratcher, Taylen Green in the 152nd overall pick is miles ahead of his ranking. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Pat Coogan at the Round 6 slot nudges the ledger their way without any fuss. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
A big swing on Squirrel White at pick No. 248, well ahead of any board in the building. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.