There is a lot of pressure on Cleveland Browns general manager Andrew Berry to have a strong 2026 NFL Draft, especially after he brought in so many gems in last year’s draft with Mason Graham, Carson Schwesinger, Quinshon Judkins, Harold Fannin Jr., and potentially, Shedeur Sanders. He has nine more picks to work with, including the sixth and 24th overall selections, and rumors are already running rampant about what Berry could do for an encore.
Wide receiver and offensive line are by far Cleveland’s two biggest needs, but there are also murmurs that the Browns could be in the market for another quarterback as well. With about six weeks to go until Draft Day, Todd McShay of The Ringer shared the latest on what he is hearing and who he believes the hidden gems could be.
The Browns have been connected to a lot of big names such as Carnell Tate, Ty Simpson, Francis Mauigoa, and other big-name prospects, but McShay stopped by The Rich Eisen Show recently and brought up Cincinnati wide receiver Jeff Caldwell. Caldwell is a name that has been connected to the Browns in many recent mock draft projections.
The Browns have nine picks and clearly need a receiver, and McShay is a big fan of Caldwell.
“Jeff Caldwell just blew my socks off and I gotta dig deeper into his tape because the good Lord only makes so many guys like Caldwell. He’s a 6’5″+ receiver, ran a 4.31, jumping through the roof. That’s a special talent I’m intrigued to see more of,” McShay said.
Caldwell spent three years at Lindenwood with his best showing coming in 2024, when he posted 52 catches for 1,011 yards and ten touchdowns. In his one year at Cincinnati, he delivered a more modest 32/478/6 stat line and only had one game with more than 70 receiving yards, which was against Bowling Green.
He didn’t quite have the production teams would like to see in a high draft pick, but he has all the measurables and athleticism that a team would love to work with.
It’s still anybody’s guess which direction the Browns will go in the draft, but whichever path they choose, it’s easy to see a guy like Caldwell fitting in. Even if the Browns take a big swing on Carnell Tate at No. 6 or somebody like Denzel Boston at No. 24, this team needs multiple weapons and could do a lot worse than a 6’5″ super-athlete with one of their mid-round picks.
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