What Does A Dream Draft Look Like for the Cleveland Browns?
Trading back, then addressing the two biggest roster needs are at the heart of a perfect Cleveland Browns draft outcome
Video Transcript
I think we should throw out, like, what our dream draft- Okay scenario is.
And, and I'm not saying, like, don't I don't need a seven-round mock like we did last week.
We'll do that leading up to the draft.
Again, we'll do another one.
But, like, I don't know, first three picks.
Like- who are the guys that if they end up with in the first three picks that they have, the two first-rounders and the second round, if you wanna go to the third round, fine, like, that, that you'd be ecstatic about, "Okay, I feel good about this team.
I feel good about the guys they got.
I'm, I'm all in," and, and, like I mean, I know it doesn't take a lot for you to get excited about the Browns.
Mm-hmm.
But what, what, what would that look like for you in terms of your dream draft scenario?
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey.
All right.
So dream draft scenario, I only need two picks.
I, so this, this, like, this scenario came together, I was just doing some mocks the other day.
I was doing some writing and did, did, did a couple mocks and this one came up a couple times.
For me, I've watched Carnell Tate all year, as many Ohio State fans have.
I, I am very much so, and I c- I will hear every argument against it and say, "Hey, this wide receiver draft, this wide receiver class is so deep and the tackles aren't as deep-" Yeah "and you wanna go get your guy at six."
I can hear that argument, but I would be very, very, very, weary to let Carnell Tate pass, if he's available to you at pick number six.
I think he's very good.
I saw him in person 14 times last year, and thought several times that when he's on that football field standing next to Jeremiah Smith and those two are catching footballs, there's a lot of times last season where you weren't sure which one was better because they were both d- that damn good.
And so that's a, that's a pretty good, that's a pretty good case to, to be made.
However, from this draft perspective, I had, Cleveland taking Carnell Tate at number six and then Monroe Freeling, the, the tackle from Georgia.
I don't think he would drop this far, but him getting into the teens, okay?
There's one trade partner I think that's in the teens that I think Cleveland could go get, and they would want to.
If they wanted to move up, they would have to get ahead of the Detroit Lions, who Detroit is going to be drafting tackle.
They let Taylor Decker go.
Yeah.
They're gonna be taking tackle in the first round.
The New York Jets pick 16, the D- Detroit Lions pick number 17.
You could move up to 16 with the Jets who are trying to stockpile picks, and if Monroe Freeling is there, if any of the other, tackles are there, the tackle that you want is there, for me it's Freeling.
I got Tate at six, Freeling at, at 16.
I traded, our 24th pick and our third round pick, and I did dances in my living room because I was like, "If this comes true, I think a lot of Browns fans can get excited about it."
If that is the scenario they take, that is very risky because there's, the tackles are not, it's not deep.
This tackle class is not deep.
I think Freeling's one of the better ones there.
But if they can get both of those guys, I think, I, I think that that would be my dream first round and that- Yeah would be a dream, absolute dream scenario.
Well, and everyone keeps bringing up, like, Freeling, he's gonna probably have to start immediately 'cause, you know, on the Browns you draft him, he'll start immediately, but he might not be seasoned enough to be like- Yeah a good tackle immediately.
I'm okay with that though, and honestly, I, I think, like, Andrew Berry admitted, I actually asked him the question about do you notice what other people talk about on tape from guys coming out of college that whether it's, like, the schemes they play, the transfer portal, whatever, that guys just maybe aren't quite as ready for the NFL at the, on the offensive line that they maybe used to be?
And he admitted, like, "Yeah, we see that."
And he said, "It's not, you know, it's not universal for everybody.
Sometimes guys are ready."
But like, I, I think they're comfortable understanding, like, it might take a couple years for one of these guys to turn into that elite tackle, and they're okay with that.
So I'm- Yeah I'm fine with Monroe Freeling.
And, and Spence, in this, in that specific scenario, a lot of the pressure goes, falls off of him to be that great because if they take him at six and they pass up on several of the other guys, just- Yeah.
Yeah just naming Caleb Downs, Sonny Stiles.
I'm just naming the Buckeyes, right?
Carnell Tate, any of them.
They, they pass on those guys, he has to hit.
He's gotta be it.
But- Yeah, for sure if you take another one of those and, and get him later in the round, you're like, "Okay, that takes a little bit of pressure off of him," and he can, like, at least settle into, hey, some mistakes are gonna happen, sure.
But he can at least settle in and not have that pressure of, "Hey, we took you ahead of all these other guys- Yeah and you gotta be Joe Thomas."
Yeah.
That's a, that's a very fair point for sure.
and, to be honest, like, I'd be comfortable with Freeling at six because I think- I would too he's good enough.
Like, I'm, I think he's good enough and I, I if that's what the pick was, fine.
But, I do think there's a lot of people that are gonna think that's a little too rich to take him.
And- and that's why honestly, like, my dream draft scenario for the Browns starts with a trade back out of six, if I'm being honest.
Like, I'm not saying, like, I, I like Carnell Tate too.
Honestly, and it's funny, actually I was gonna bring this up.
I saw somebody on Twitter ask, like, if you could be, if, if somebody told you you were guaranteed that Carnell Tate would have Terry McLaurin's first, like, whatever, how many, how many years he's been in the league, like seven, the f- the first seven years he's been in the league.
Hold on one, two, three, four, yeah, seven years he's been in the league, would you take him in the top 10?
And people were like, "Yes."
And if you think about it, like, Terry McLaurin's had, up until this past year, he had five straight 1,000-yard seasons.
Yeah.
He had 13 touchdowns in 2024.
Like, he was, he was balling.
So I think if, if you were guaranteed that, I would say like, "Yeah, for sure," like, "sign me up."
I, the Browns have had one wide receiver that's, that's- Yeah gone back to back thousand yard seasons and that was Amari Cooper.
Like, it w- like, it's, it, the, it's just a very- And that was fun, man.
Yeah, it was.
That was fun.
That was fun.
So, listen, and, and I really do like Carnell Tate.
For me, it just comes down to what you mentioned, the wide receiver room or class is a lot deeper than the tackle class.
Yeah.
And so I'm all about accumulating as many more picks, future picks as possible, trading down to, like, the early teens.
I'm looking at the Cowboys.
Yeah.
I'm looking at maybe the Dolphins.
I'm looking at maybe the Rams if they're like, "We're a piece away.
Let's go get Arval Willis or something," and they wanna trade up 'cause they tend to be aggressive and give up their picks.
If them picks- Okay.
I'm, I'm good with getting to, like, 13 and then that's where I would take Monroe Freeling, where you feel like the value's probably a little bit better.
And then, and then I think at 24 for my dream draft scenario, I'm taking Omar Cooper Jr. And then I'll throw in one more for you at 39.
I really love D'Angelo Ponds, man.
I, maybe it's just Indiana guys, I don't know, but D'Angelo Ponds as your nickel corner, you know, he's a little- Woo undersized, but, like, dude, like, he fills out a spot that I think is actually a more pressing need than we realize for the Browns, that nickel spot, whether it's a safety, whether it's a corner, and I think safety's a big need too because, Grant Delpit's on the last year of his deal and Ronnie Hickman technically isn't signed yet.
you know, I, I'm, I'm fascinated to see what the, how they handle that.
But that I think is my, if I'm thinking about where this goes, trade back, get Monroe Freeling, get Omar Cooper Jr., D'Angelo Ponds in, in the, in the second round, and, and I'm, like, walking out of the facility in Berea, you know, ecstatic- He's mine about, about the team I get to cover next year.
Let's go.
Let's go.
Yeah, that'd be, that'd be pretty damn good if that, that comes true.
Ponds is interesting.
This dude, dude, the Omar Cooper thing's, he's a good player.
He's a really- I love him.
I love him really, really, really good player.
He is tough.
I mean, all those guys.
And I don't think, like, initially I think he was kind of projected as a second rounder, but now I think he's going in the first.
Yeah.
Yeah.
It's, he's climbed.
You, you, you nailed that right at the combine too.
You said the, the conversation around him was getting pretty loud and, uh- Yeah yeah, dude, that'd be a, that'd be a heck of a And in that scenario you're probably getting another one at some point, whether it's- Yeah you know, it's next year or whether 'Cause the Cowboys have two ones in the first round too.
They have 12 and 20.
Yeah.
You can go and, and I don't know, they're probably not giving up both of them for pick six, but, like, maybe you get a second or another first and, and- Yeah you'd be pretty excited about that.
I, I'm intrigued about the possibility to trade him back.
We'll see what that looks like.
