CLEVELAND, OHIO (TheOBR.com) - Good morning, Cleveland Browns fans!
Yesterday, I wrote about how the news cycle was currently "inert". I stand by that. There's precious little to report on as the Browns and the rest of the NFL prepare for the 2026 NFL Draft. Their heads are down, and any information you get out of any NFL team at this point is likely to be disinformation as much as it is a leak.
Fortunately for the OBR, we continue to bounce along in situations like these because so many of you have chosen to support us by subscribing, and the OBR forums ensure that there's still a constant buzz and hum of activity on the site regardless of the lack of news. That's not true for every Browns site, many of which don't have a source of income aside from advertising that accompanies articles. So, they need to keep writing, even if there's nothing to write about. This means they either need to create news themselves out of things like inactivity (e.g., there are stories about how Dillon Gabriel hasn't been in Berea) or rely on the tried-and-true reporting of "analysis" from radio and TV programs where the hosts are desperate to fill airtime. Or simple speculation.
All of this is well and good. But what is out there on the news side of things this morning is a tad underwhelming. There's precious little for me to bloviate about. It's the bloviation equivalent of wandering around a parking lot looking for your car.
Todd Monken isn't even helping by being somewhat tepid about Deshaun Watson. So, the team will "evaluate" him. Stop the presses.
The Browns are somehow at the center of one of the biggest storylines in the league heading into the draft, because it's a complete mystery as to how the Browns will use the #6 pick. No one knows anything - aside from Andrew Berry's statement that the Browns "may not" be picking at six - so there's active speculation out there that the team could decide to trade down, or even trade up. The team is desperate at WR and offensive tackle, so there is plenty of speculation around those positions, even though there's not a perfect fit who lands naturally at the #6 spot in terms of value. Same at spot #24, which has the Browns taking just about any position based on how bored the mock draft writer happens to be.
In this environment, you get weird things like people claiming to have the inside scoop that the Browns are in on QB Ty Simpson or OT Kaydn Proctor, neither of whom makes sense to me as a good use of the Browns' #6 pick. Betting odds have emerged suggesting the Arizona Cardinals or New York Jets could snag Ty Simpson late in the first round, which is good because it means that the Browns aren't likely to use a first-round pick on a player who looks like a second-rounder to me.
Kadyn Proctor
Not at six. Please, not at six. (Photo: Getty)
With all this, you might expect the OBR team to be taking it easy, but that's not really the case. I'm working as hard as ever, building out something that I can't discuss yet. We're getting ready for the NFL Draft weekend, where we'll be running live coverage throughout the weekend once more and continuing our four-night-a-week video schedule. Meanwhile, hopefully the Cavs and Guardians are interesting enough to keep you entertained with Cleveland Sports while the Browns work on trying to maximize what they can get out of the draft in a couple of weekends.
Have a good one! GO BROWNS!
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When not blowing up evil aliens, Barry McBride is the Publisher and Founder of the OBR and bloviates this nonsense every morning. You can follow him on Twitter @barrymcbride or write him at barry@theobr.com if you are so compelled.
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