The Cleveland Browns are tied for the third-worst record in the NFL through Week 11, owning a 2-7 mark on the season.
Cleveland’s poor start to the year has the Browns projected as the No. 4 position in the 2025 upcoming draft through Week 11, and the franchise can use its first-round selection for the first time in four years.
Analysts across the spectrum have tied the Browns to the quarterback position, and multiple signal-callers are expected to be first-round selections next year.
The 33rd Team’s Kyle Crabbs believes Cleveland will go in a different direction this offseason.
In reporting on the latest mock draft, Crabbs suggested the Browns would go with Michigan cornerback Will Johnson should the draft order remain unchanged.
“[T]he cornerback spot is a sneaky need for the Browns,” Crabbs wrote, adding, “Will Johnson would be a premiere value position and potential star in an aggressive scheme like the Browns.”
Crabbs compared Johnson to the Denver Broncos’ Patrick Surtain, a Pro Bowl defender for his AFC West squad.
Crabbs wrote that Johnson could serve as a replacement for two existing Cleveland cornerbacks.
“Young corner Martin Emerson Jr. has regressed severely,” Crabbs suggested, adding, “And star cornerback Denzel Ward has suffered a number of concussions in recent years.”
While the analyst noted that Cleveland would like to draft a quarterback, Crabbs said the Browns were in a “tough spot” due to the financial implications the team would suffer moving on from starter Deshaun Watson.
He added that Sheduer Sanders would not be interested in joining the Browns because the team’s cap is being consumed by an aging offensive line and Watson.
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