If the draft were today, Travis Hunter probably would be the Browns' pick at No. 2. But they have 15 days to strategize other issues, mostly when to select their quarterback.
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.
More national mock drafts are now following the lead of TheLandOnDemand (on March 25) and mocking Colorado two-way star Travis Hunter to the Browns.
So what should we make of the Browns hosting Michigan defensive tackle Mason Graham, Georgia linebacker Jalen Walker, and Mississippi quarterback Jaxson Dart on “30 visits” this week to team headquarters?
This is what’s going on.
1. Each team can host up to 30 prospects at its team headquarters to visit with and conduct medical checks. Players can not be put through a physical workout on these visits.
At the NFL annual meeting in Palm Beach, FL, last week, Berry exclusively told TLOD that the vast majority of the Browns’ allotted 30 visits would take place in April. They previously hosted Hunter and Shedeur Sanders of Colorado, Cam Ward of Miami, and Abdul Carter of Penn State in March.
Dart reportedly visited on Tuesday. Other scheduled visits include Jalen Milroe of Alabama, Tyler Shough of Louisville, Quinshon Judkins and TryVeon Henderson of Ohio State, and others who might be candidates to be drafted in lower rounds.
2. While Hunter may be the front-runner today to be the Browns’ pick at No. 2, the Browns are far from turning in that card.
“There are a number of players that we like in this draft relatively high, but I think as we come to really the end of March, first week of April, we're coming down the home stretch, so to speak, about probably the player assessment phase of the draft process and then as we really get into the month of April, that's when we really dive into strategy,” Berry said.
“I do believe in using the shot clock and using the time that's available to you. I think by that time we'll have a pretty good sense in terms of how we view the individuals as both players and people, but I wouldn't maybe undersell the amount of time that we start thinking through draft strategy because you can walk a number of different paths with that pick, whether you pick a quarterback, a non-quarterback, trade up, trade down, looking at all those different scenarios and then seeing how the draft could possibly sequence from there, and then ultimately how good you feel about those outcomes both in the short term and how it sets the franchise up in the longer term.”
3. The Browns’ draft strategy involves much more than whom to take first, second, etc.
The Browns will weigh different combinations to measure which ones provide the most value.
For instance, does it make more sense to just take a player at No. 2 (right now, Hunter) or trade down and take perhaps a slightly lower-graded player (say, Graham) plus extra draft picks?
Also, if the Browns don’t take a quarterback at No. 2, how do they ensure getting the one they prefer with a later pick?
With the draft now 15 days away, nobody has a good handle on where the top quarterbacks will be taken, other than Ward at No. 1.
In recent days, Sanders reportedly is sliding – perhaps out of the top 10 and beyond – and Dart, Milroe and even Shough are rising. Soon to come are similar reports on the very quiet next wave of QBs, including Will Howard of Ohio State, Quinn Ewers of Texas, Kyle McCord of Syracuse and Riley Leonard of Notre Dame.
So, while it once appeared the Browns could afford to wait until their second pick, No. 33 overall, to take their quarterback of choice, it’s possible that won’t be the case on April 24.
They might have to move up from No. 33 into the back of the first round for their guy. Owning an extra pick in the second round would make that an easier decision and give them the nimbleness to strike quickly. Which is why they haven’t ruled out a trade-down from No. 2.
Further, the faint possibility exists of picking their quarterback after No. 33, perhaps by trading up from the third round (where they currently own two picks) and into the middle of the second round.
“I'd say that we're pretty open to anything that we think can be advantageous to us,” Berry said.
Contrary to popular opinion, Berry has not been given a “quarterback-or-bust” mandate by owner Jimmy Haslam.
“I think the message is if the right [quarterback’s] there, we're going to take him. If not, we'll figure it out for a year or two until we get the right person,” Haslam said last week. “And I just keep [saying], we need good football players. There's good football players in this draft and we’ve got to make sure we get the right ones for us. There's lots of different options. We're going to do what's best for the team.”
The final words on these different strategic options come from Berry.
“I think the most straightforward path to contention is you get your version of Jayden Daniels in the draft and you're off and running,” he said. “But I think maybe the broader point is there is more than one avenue to building a contending team or walking that path.
“That's why I don't undersell the amount of time that we think through how a variety of possible paths could look. Look, we could just sit and pick at two. I'm not saying that that's not necessarily going to happen on the 24th [of April]. But as we sit here ... I think there's plenty of work to do.”