Cleveland’s roster gets depleted but the Browns NFL draft pick set grows for 2025
When the Cleveland Browns traded away WR Amari Cooper, fans knew that the NFL trade deadline was not going to be about the team adding players. Then the Browns shocked the Baltimore Ravens in Jameis Winston’s first start and hope was ruined… for a week.
Cleveland kicked off the actual deadline day by dealing DE Za’Darius Smith to the Detroit Lions for an NFL draft pick in 2025 and a swap of picks in 2026. Given the rumors and our report, the Browns might not be done before the NFL trade deadline ends.
Nothing Cleveland does will cure what ails the team but building NFL draft stock for next year is helpful. The Browns now have nine selections after adding a premium (top 100) pick in the Cooper trade and a fifth-rounder in Tuesday’s Smith trade:
- 1st Round – Their own
- 2nd Round – Their own
- 3rd Round – Their own, the Buffalo Bills (Amari Cooper trade)
- 4th Round – Their own
- 5th Round – Detroit Lions (Traded away their own to acquire Za’Darius Smith last year)
- 6th Round – Their own, the Minnesota Vikings (2023 Za’Darius Smith deal) and the Chicago Bears (Williams deal)
With 20 players set to hit free agency, Cleveland will have a lot of work to do on their roster going into 2025. Nine picks, including four in the first 100, will help the process.