With two first-round picks in the 2026 NFL Draft, the Cleveland Browns are almost running two separate boards as they try to figure out their options. Holding the No. 6 and No. 24 overall selections, there is a draft in which they choose a wide receiver first, and then an offensive lineman, and there is an entirely different draft in which they take the offensive lineman first and then choose the wide receiver.
As if that wasn’t complicated enough, a new factor was brought into the mix when the New York Giants acquired the No. 10 overall pick from the Cincinnati Bengals in a trade for veteran defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence. The Giants also hold the No. 5 overall pick, and they may be looking for a wide receiver, so the Browns might have to make their decisions based on what the Giants do at No. 5 and what they think they might do at No. 10.
With all of that in mind, analyst Ken Carman has revealed how the Browns can maximize their first-round picks, and that is taking the wide receiver first, then the offensive lineman.
“I think that going this route: wide receiver first, then offensive tackle, I think maximizes your chances to have good football players and success in the draft unlike the opposite way when you take a lineman, and then you take a wide receiver, because I don’t know how many great wide receivers you’re going to have by the time 24 comes around,” Carman said.
"Wide Receiver first, then offensive tackle, I think maximizes your chances to have good football players and success in the draft."
🏈@KenCarman says the Giants now owning picks No. 5 & 10 may force the Browns to draft WR first pic.twitter.com/fYV2H3MNne
— 92.3 The Fan (@923TheFan) April 20, 2026
The Giants were being linked to wide receiver Carnell Tate at No. 5 even before they made their recent trade. So, if Tate is off the board, the Browns could still opt for wide receiver Jordyn Tyson, who has moved back into the top 10 conversation after a private workout for multiple teams last week. Or, Cleveland could take one of the multiple offensive linemen who could be there, such as Francis Mauigoa, Spencer Fano, Kadyn Proctor, or Monroe Freeling.
Carman said he believes Tate or Tyson would be the safer option because the offensive linemen could be considered a reach that high. Then, the Browns could spend less capital by taking a tackle at No. 24, where the targets could be Blake Miller or Caleb Lomu.
It is a difficult set of circumstances for the Browns, to be sure, so they must act wisely while considering all of the possible scenarios.
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