B-
Cleveland Browns
The Browns answered their biggest question with Mendoza. Grade: B-.
by ianharmon17 ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 11 picks
· 6 steals
· 2 reaches
The one hole that towered over the rest is filled. The Browns spent their marquee pick on Fernando Mendoza, and for the first time in a while there is a real answer at quarterback.
Randall has a lot of ground to make up just to look fairly priced. The Bisontis pick is the one they will point to when this weekend is judged. That edge rusher hole did not close this weekend, and it was the biggest one on the wall.
A tidy weekend of work that should hold up just fine.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick No. 6 they get a long-term answer under center. The biggest hole, addressed.
In pick 24 they get a true top target, and a steal at that. Exactly the need they had to hit.
A conviction pick on Max Iheanachor at slot 39 that the board grades a round light. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Chase Bisontis in Round 3, Pick 6 is a bargain the rest of the room will envy. A need, and now a little less of one.
Chandler Rivers in the Round 4 slot is fine work, a shade of surplus and no downside. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
They read the board right and Harold Perkins Jr. was the payoff at No. 146. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
Eli Raridon slid further than he should have, and the 149th overall pick is lovely value for the tight end. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Quietly one of the better values of the day, Nick Barrett at the 215th pick. It fills a real need, too.
Nothing to complain about; Thaddeus Dixon went a shade earlier than his grade, which is fine. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
They let Kaden Wetjen come to them and pounced at slot 248. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Adam Randall in No. 249 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. It patches a soft spot without any drama.