C+
Cleveland Browns
Flashes of a plan, unevenly run, for the Browns: C+.
by Khoston1999 ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 1 steals
· 6 reaches
The Browns bet big and early on Gary Smith III, 100 picks ahead of the board. Bold does not always mean right. Some smart calls, some head-scratchers, and a C+ in the wash.
Landing Endries that late papers over a lot of smaller sins. Leaving running back unaddressed is the roster risk they will have to answer for in the fall. They left with quarterback solved and the rest of the wish list mostly ticked off.
Building through the lines is a philosophy, and they stuck to it.
It nets out as a middle-of-the-pack haul that neither helps nor hurts much.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick No. 6 they get a building block for the line, a steep price for the projection.
In Round 1, Pick 24 they get a go-to option on the outside, though they paid up to get him. The biggest hole, addressed.
Chris Johnson at No. 39 is a sound buy, the sort that quietly helps a class. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Keyron Crawford at pick 70 is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Value said wait; Cole Payton in the 107th overall pick says they were not listening. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Steal is underselling it; Jack Endries at slot 146 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
A big swing on Matt Gulbin at the 149th pick, well ahead of any board in the building. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
A clean, defensible pick in the 206th overall pick with a little surplus value in Jalen Stroman. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Gary Smith III in No. 248, miles early. A need, and now a little less of one.