7-round Browns mock draft: Fixing what can be fixed in 10 picks

When it comes to NFL football in Cleveland, the more things change, the more we kinda hope they don’t stay the same.

The Cleveland Browns, the franchise with the league’s third-fewest regular-season wins over the last decade, and precisely three postseason games in that time period, are attempting once again to get it right with a radical shift in coaching staffs. Gone are Kevin Stefanski and Jim Schwartz, as all Browns fans have known for a while now, and in come new head coach and offensive shot-caller Todd Monken, new offensive coordinator Travis Switzer, and new defensive coordinator Mike Rutenberg.

In addition, the Browns’ offensive line underwent an offseason overhaul the likes of which we haven’t seen since the Kansas City Chiefs parted out their entire front five in 2022 following their Super Bowl LV loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Gone are guards Joel Bitonio (likely retired) and Wyatt Teller (signed with the Houston Texans), center Ethan Pocic, and tackle Jack Conklin; in come guards Zion Johnson and the re-signed Tevin Jenkins, center Elgton Jenkins, and tackle Tytus Howard. We’ll see how it all goes, but at least there’s some talent there, and the team was proactive regarding the inevitable.

Some things do remain, of course. GM Andrew Berry is still valiantly trying to maintain a salary cap that has Deshaun Watson hanging over him like the Sword of Damocles (2027 can’t come soon enough), the defense is still relatively packed with estimable talent, and the quarterback situation is still as undefined as it’s seemingly been since the days of Brian Sipe and the Kardiac Kids.

Now that the big moves in NFL free agency are in the rearview, it’s time for Berry, Monken, and everybody else in the building to turn their attention to the draft. How can these guys get the most out of a draft that will go a long way to defining what appears to be a murky, blurry future at this point in time? Armed with my own amateur tape study, a bunch of fancy numbers, and the PFF Mock Draft Simulator, here are my humble suggestions based on the draft capital the team has right now.

Round 1, Pick 6 (6): Carnell Tate, WR, Ohio State

So… here’s where the rubber meets the road, so to speak. Do the Browns select the Best Offensive Lineman Available at 6 if none of the guys are pitched that high from a talent perspective? Maybe they try to trade down and grab Spencer Fano or Monroe Freeling or Francis Mauigoa or whomsoever they might like most?

Both are understandable options, and if the Browns were to take a franchise-defining tackle with the sixth pick, I’m sure that most people in the greater Cleveland area wouldn’t be too bummed out about it. But in this case, I’m giving Browns quarterback (YOUR NAME HERE) his new No. 1 receiver. Because with the O-line moves the team made in free agency, I would say that receiver is the greatest need on the team right now (outside of the guy throwing the ball to said receiver), and I’m solving that with Carnell Tate.

On most any other team, Tate would be recognized as a guy who can move all over the formation, and really does have legitimate X-iso traits. Problem was, Tate was working with Jeremiah Smith, and when you’re standing next to a “generational” player, you might get a bit lost in the shuffle. I’ve seen the 6′ 2¼”, 192-pound Tate referred to as an ideal ”Z” receiver, which means that he’s your No. 2 guy. Maybe Tate is the No. 2 guy when Jeremiah Smith is No. 1, but how many Jeremiah Smiths are there?

Last season, Tate caught 51 passes on 66 targets for 875 yards and nine touchdowns. Not exactly OMG stats, but when you watch the tape, and you put Tate in a receiver room that’s a big box of meh right now, it’s clear that he becomes Todd Monken’s force multiplier in the passing game, and that’s what the Browns need.

Right now.

(From Jacksonville Jaguars) Round 1, Pick 24 (24): Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, DB, Toledo

One thing that very few people wanted to see happen was Jim Schwartz’s decision to walk away from his defensive coordinator position after the regime change took place. If you talk to offensive coaches around the league, they’ll tell you that few DCs keep them up at night trying to figure out counters more than Schwartz does — Monken even referred to that in his introductory presser when he said that “It’s been a b*tch, I apologize, to go against his defense six times over the last three years.”

That said, it’s now up to Mike Rutenberg to call this defense and try to approximate the challenges Schwartz brought. One thing that would help would be one of the new do-it-all defensive backs who can win in the box, in the slot, and in the deep third. From Kyle Hamilton to Brian Branch to Nick Emmanwori, these players are the NFL’s new Most Cherished Thing, and it’s easy to see why when they allow you to run light boxes and two-high coverage without getting gashed in the run game.

This draft has three “unicorns” who could go in the first round: Ohio State’s Caleb Downs, Oregon’s Dillon Thieneman, and Toledo’s Emmanuel McNeil-Warren. Of the three, I believe that McNeil-Warren has the most range from the box out to the slot or back to the deep third, and if strength of competition concerns have him here with the 24th pick, I wouldn’t hesitate. Last season, the 6′ 3½”, 201-pound McNeill-Warren had 43 solo tackles, 18 stops, four tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, one sack, and five total pressures. In coverage, he allowed six catches on 15 targets for 116 yards, 50 yards after the catch, one touchdown, two interceptions, five pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 50.3.

It’s no knock on Rutenberg to say that the Browns might not have the schematic advantages they did with Schwartz, at least at the beginning, so you want to shore up these potential issues with personnel. McNeil-Warren would be a great equalizer.