With Shedeur Sanders, Travis Hunter gone, trading down might be best including in this Browns NFL mock draft
The Cleveland Browns entered Week 12 of the NFL season with QB Shedeur Sanders and WR/CB Travis Hunter in their sites in the upcoming NFL draft. Slotted with the third overall selection, the team and coaching staff didn’t care about the upcoming draft and beat the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday Night Football.
Now, the Browns are slotted in the eighth spot in a draft class that is a bit of “beauty in the eye of the beholder” with a lot of questions behind Sanders and Hunter.
With an eye to the future, including what is expected to be a better QB class in 2026, we start this week’s NFL Mock Draft for the Browns with a trade down. Using the simulator at Pro Football Network, Cleveland moved down from the eighth selection to 16th:
- Rams receive picks 8 and 168
- Browns receive picks 16, 78 and 97 along with a 2026 second-round pick
1st Round
OT Kelvin Banks, Texas
Trading down and still getting a talented tackle, either for the left or right side, makes a ton of sense. adding two more picks within the top 100 is huge and could lead to more trades to get picks in 2026.
2nd Round
DT Walter Nolen, Ole Miss
A strong nose tackle type that could pair nicely with the smaller Michael Hall Jr., Cleveland might move on from Dalvin Tomlinson this offseason with Shelby Harris and Maurice Hurst are free agents.
RB Quinshon Judkins, Ohio State
Either Buckeye back would be helpful here but Judkins doesn’t have the same injury history as TreVeyon Henderson. The Browns need to refill their running back room.
3rd Round
DE LT Overton, Alabama
With Za’Darius Smith in Detroit, Cleveland needs to refill the defensive line to make sure Myles Garrett only gets double-teamed throughout the prime of his career.
TE Terrance Ferguson, Oregon
Finding a compliment to David Njoku has not gone well but the 6’5” Ferguson might be able to help fix that.
QB Kurtis Rourke, Indiana
While his play against Ohio State wasn’t great, his thumb injury and the offensive line didn’t help him much at all. Rourke is accurate with the football and, at a minimum, could be a long-term backup with starter potential.
4th Round
CB Denzel Burke, Ohio State
GM Andrew Berry will be taking a cornerback so who better than Burke who was once seen as a first round pick? With a ton of picks this year, taking a swing on a Buckeye (ala Dawand Jones) is a good way to use one of them.
6th Round
RB Raheim Sanders, South Carolina
It would not be shocking if Cleveland has to replace all of their running backs this offseason but, hopefully, Nick Chubb returns. Judkins and Sanders would help fill out the room well.
OG Joshua Gray, Oregon State
With Joel Bitonio heading toward retirement in the near future, taking chances on adding an interior offensive lineman or two the next couple of years will help up front.
DE RJ Oben, Notre Dame
With a ton of Day 3 picks, doubling up on defensive end help is a smart way to go. Oben is an older prospect but depth is depth.
7th Round
LB Power Echols, North Carolina
There are a few prospects with great names including Power Echols which sounds like a middle linebacker or nose tackle.
Below are screenshots of the trade and the full Browns mock draft. After looking it over, join us in the comment section with your thoughts on both:
