The Cleveland Browns have the 10th selection in the NFL Draft this week. This pick is extremely important because the Browns are only a few pieces away from being a legitimate threat. Cleveland is right on the cusp of being a good team, but they are also very close to being a bad claim as suggested by their tenth pick. How the Browns handle this year’s Draft will dictate a lot about how this organization will maneuver moving forward.
Best Case Scenario
As I previously stated, Cleveland is very close as they have a ton of talent at the skill positions and a new offensive-minded head coach to get the job done. The Browns also recently signed Jack Conklin to shore up the right side, but they need to fill the gaping problem on the left side.
Protecting Baker Mayfield is priority number one and it would be damn devastating if they failed to find a left tackle in the Draft. It feels to me that the easy answer would be not to overthink the situation and grab the offensive tackle they have highest on the board. Personally, I would be ecstatic if they snagged Georgia prospect, Andrew Thomas, who is the number one option on my board, but an argument could be made for a few tackles here.
I also would not be opposed to a trade down situation or trading for a veteran like Trent Williams, but Cleveland needs to find an answer.
Worst Case
Ezra Cleveland is a good player, but he is not worth the tenth pick and he is not worth the 32nd overall pick. Any situation that puts Cleveland in Cleveland on day one is a disaster in my eyes. Taking him in the second round is a fine option and I would more than support it, but taking Cleveland in the first round would upset me greatly. I don’t see him being a top tackle option in this draft.
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