The Cleveland Browns picked up an extra first-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft from the Jacksonville Jaguars after trading down from No. 2 to No. 5 to pass on Travis Hunter for Mason Graham in the 2025 draft, and only time will tell if that was the right move.
While there is plenty of excitement for the upcoming 2025 season, Cleveland is still in a rebuilding phase, and there is also plenty to look forward to with the ’26 draft, where the team was recently linked to one high-profile safety prospect.
Bleacher Report’s Brent Sobleski put together an early 2026 mock draft, and he has the Browns taking an in-state phenom second overall with Ohio State safety Caleb Downs.
“Eric Turner became the highest drafted safety in NFL history when the Cleveland Browns selected the UCLA standout near the top of the 1991 class. Will history repeat itself? Obviously, quarterback remains at the forefront of everything the Browns do. Maybe they have something in Shedeur Sanders or Dillon Gabriel. We’ll have to wait and see. Also, the organization owns a pair of first-rounders to play with, thanks to this year’s draft-day trade with the Jacksonville Jaguars. What isn’t in question, though, is Caleb Downs’ talent,” Sobleski wrote.
Usually, second overall is way too high for a safety, but Downs made a case for being the best player in college football last season and helped lead the Buckeyes to a National Championship.
The Browns need playmakers wherever they can get them, and Downs would certainly be a fun addition to this defense, though many will project the Browns to take another quarterback if they are picking that high in 2026.
With Ronnie Hickman hitting free agency after the 2025 season and Grant Delpit doing the same after 2026, safety could become a big position of need.
It would be fun to see what Downs could do in Jim Schwartz’s defense, and it’s always nice to see the Browns keep a Buckeye in-state.
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