Can globe-trotting Deshaun Watson close the gap of first-round picks lost to Browns' rivals in the AFC North?
You must have an active subscription to read this story.
Click Here to subscribe Now!
Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland. He has covered the Browns since 1984.
The three-year probation is finally over for the Browns.
Three years without a first-round pick – and three middle-round picks – surrendered to the Houston Texans in the franchise-altering trade for quarterback Deshaun Watson.
Much has been made about how the assets from the trade greatly aided the Texans’ meteoric rise to AFC playoff contender.
Among the key players on the Texans directly connected to the Watson trade are receiver Tank Dell, pass rusher Will Anderson, running back/returner Dameon Pierce, guard Kenyon Green and new rookies -- cornerback Kamari Lassiter and tight end Cade Stover.
But there’s another way to look at the cost to the Browns of this mega-deal. Consider the cost of losing ground in overall first-round talent to the Browns’ rivals in the AFC North division.
While the Browns failed to add a first-round player in the 2022, 2023 and 2024 drafts, their rivals were able to pad their rosters with their own first-round draft choices.
The Browns are the only team not to win the AFC North since it was formed in 2002. So they had the most ground to make up. Without those first-round picks, GM Andrew Berry has had to be creative in trade and free agency and owner Jimmy Haslam has had to shell out the most cash over cap of any NFL team.
Here’s a rundown of what each team has done in the first round of the past three drafts. Keep in mind that while these highlighted players may ascend to a second contract with their clubs, the Browns will not have three corresponding players maturing into stars on their roster.
Baltimore Ravens
2022 first-round pick(s): Safety Kyle Hamilton (14th overall), center Tyler Linderbaum (25th overall).
Hamilton has played in 31 games, starting 19. An impact “in the box” safety, he blossomed in his second season, earning first-team All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors.
Linderbaum has started and played in 32 games. The center finished seventh for offensive rookie-of-the-year in 2022 and was a Pro Bowl selection in 2023.
2022 record: 10-7, lost wild-card game.
2023 first-round pick: Wide receiver Zay Flowers (22nd overall).
Flowers started 16 games as a rookie and led the Ravens in targets (108), receptions (77) receiving yards (858), first downs (41), and matched the team high in receiving touchdowns (5).
2023 record: 13-4, lost AFC Championship Game.
2024 first-round pick: Cornerback Nate Wiggins (30th overall).
Wiggins is projected to be the Ravens’ third cornerback and will join Brandon Stephens on the outside when Marlon Humphrey moves inside to cover the slot receiver.
Cincinnati Bengals
2022 first-round pick: Safety Daxton Hill (31st overall).
Hill was a backup to Jessie Bates as a rookie and played 15 games, mostly as a gunner on special teams, where he played the seventh-most snaps among Bengals defensive players. He started all 17 games at free safety his second season and was third in tackles (110), tied for first in passes defensed (11) and tied for third in interceptions (2).
2022 record: 12-4, lost AFC Championship Game.
2023 first-round pick: Defensive end Myles Murphy (28th overall).
As a rookie, Murphy was a second backup to left defensive end Sam Hubbard. He played on 305 defensive snaps (27.8 percent) and had 2 sacks. He is projected to move up to third overall in the rotation behind two quality starting ends.
2023 record: 9-8.
2024 first-round pick: Offensive tackle Amarius Mims (18th overall).
Mims is projected to be the backup to right tackle Trent Brown in his rookie season.
Pittsburgh Steelers
2022 first-round pick: Quarterback Kenny Pickett (20th overall).
Pickett started 24 games in two years, winning 14 and losing 10, throwing 13 touchdowns and 13 interceptions, and had a passer rating of 78.8. He was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles along with a fourth-round pick for a 2024 third-round pick and a pair of seventh-round picks in 2025. The Steelers used the third-round pick on North Carolina State linebacker Payton Wilson, who was their fourth selection in what has been universally lauded as one of the top three team drafts. Pickett will be regarded in Pittsburgh and elsewhere as a draft bust, but he had a 2-1 record in three starts against the Browns.
2022 record: 9-8.
2023 first-round pick: Offensive tackle Broderick Jones (14th overall).
Jones made his first start at right tackle in Game 5 and then started the last 10 games of his rookie season. He is expected to be moved to left tackle, where he could be a mainstay for many years.
2023 record: 10-7, lost wild-card game.
2024 first-round pick: Offensive lineman Troy Fautanu (20th overall).
Fautanu is being earmarked as the team’s future starting right tackle. Like Jones a year ago, he will begin his rookie season as a backup on the depth chart.
Cleveland Browns
2022 first-round pick: Deshaun Watson (15th overall pick was traded).
Watson was suspended by the NFL for the first 11 games for violations of the league personal conduct policy. In six games started, Watson was 3-3, threw 7 touchdowns and 5 interceptions, and had a passer rating of 79.1.
2022 record: 7-10.
2023 first-round pick: Watson (12th overall pick was traded).
Watson suffered a micro-tear of his right rotator cuff in his third start. In his sixth start, he suffered a high ankle sprain and a displaced fracture of the glenoid bone in his right shoulder and then had season-ending surgery. In five full starts, plus one quarter in a sixth game, he was 4-1, threw 7 touchdowns and 4 interceptions, and had a passer rating of 84.3.
2023 record: 10-7, lost wild-card game.
2024 first-round pick: Watson (23rd overall traded).
The Browns say Watson will be ready to resume as their starting quarterback for Game 1.