Cleveland Browns Daily Mock Draft for Wednesday, March 19, 2025. While the draft approach debate rages on in Cleveland, the Browns do what so many want, and they take their next quarterback with their top pick.
As we approach the final weeks leading into the NFL Draft, the conversation about the Cleveland Browns and how they will use the second overall pick continues to be one of the most intriguing in the league. Several very smart people think the best players in this draft aren't quarterbacks, and the Browns would be best suited to get a blue chip prospect as opposed to, in their minds, reaching for a quarterback. Other very smart people think the Browns need to address the quarterback position with the second overall pick, no matter what. In my mock today, we're going to roll with that second option, which seems to be the more unpopular approach. We're going to grab that quarterback at two, and then see what we can do with the rest of the draft to give him every chance to succeed.
2. Shedeur Sanders, QB Colorado
6'2" 216 lbs
In this mock, Cam Ward went off the board with the top pick, so the Browns roll with the player who has turned out to be the most polarizing in the draft. Many experts say that Sanders is nowhere near talented enough to be in the discussion at number two. Others point out his playing style and how, historically, it has meshed with Kevin Stefanski's offense. To be honest, I fall in between those experts. I think we're all a bit harsh on a quarterback who has had a stellar college career, and who I truly feel has earned the right to be a top quarterback in the league. I think there are some very concerning elements of his game, but if this happens with the Browns at two, I will be optimistic that Kevin Stefanski and company believe they can get all the positive traits out of Shedeur on a weekly basis.
Notable players available: Abdul Carter, Travis Hunter, Mason Graham, Will Campbell, Ashton Jeanty
TRADE
- Browns send picks 33 and 179 to the Philadelphia Eagles.
- Browns receive picks 35 and 96
As I run through these mocks every week, the trade calls come fast and furious for pick 33, and I can certainly understand why. In this circumstance, the Eagles are jonesing to get some offensive line upgrades, so they trade up to pick Donovan Jackson out of Ohio State. It's an easy call for the Browns as we only drop 2 spots and add another top-100 pick. (With pick 34, the Giants selected Tre Harris out of Ole Miss.)
35. Benjamin Morrison, CB Notre Dame
6'0" 190 lbs
The defensive philosophy of the Cleveland Browns is simple, but it requires bigtime players to execute. They want to pressure the quarterback with as few players as possible, and they want to shut down receivers with high quality defensive backs who can take advantage of mistakes quarterbacks will make when facing that pressure. There are some questions as to how the Browns will move forward in future years with guys like Greg Newsome and MJ Emerson. Benjamin Morrison would come in this year and help alleviate some of those concerns, as he could step in and almost immediately challenge both Newsome and Emerson for the title of second best cornerback on the roster.
Notable players available: Tyliek Williams, Walter Nolen, Grey Zabel, Kenneth Grant, Omarion Hampton
67. TreVeyon Henderson, RB Ohio State
5'10" 207lbs
TreVeyon Henderson just refused to ever get pigeonholed, didn't he? He's a terrific workhorse back, he's a really good pass catcher out of the backfield, and he does all the little things well in between. Henderson gives the Browns another exciting backfield option in 2025, and he becomes their primary focus at the position in years to come.
Notable players available: Elic Ayomanor, Marcus Mbow, Jayden Higgins, Bradyn Swinson, Darius Alexander
94. Elijah Arroyo, TE Miami (FL)
6'4" 245 lbs
Full disclosure, I've been doing these mocks every single week, and I just can't figure out how Arroyo continues to get overlooked enough to where I can draft him here at pick 94. He does everything well as a tight end. He's explosive, he's got great hands, he's a good route runner, and he's a powerful run blocker. If he's on the board here, I'm pairing him with another freakish Miami Hurricane tight end in David Njoku, and the Browns will have a chance to be dominant at this position.
Notable players available: Alfred Collins, Lathan Ransom, Josaiah Stewart, Hollin Pierce, DJ Giddens
96. Hollin Pierce, OT Rutgers
6'8" 341 lbs
We all know that the offensive tackle positions are going to need to be addressed in coming years, and so the Browns go out and get an absolute monster to throw into the mix in Rutgers' Hollin Pierce. At 6'8" and 341 pounds, I feel like I might have dreams of Pierce and Dawand Jones hitting their full potentials, giving the Browns the biggest tackles in history. Like Jones, Pierce is almost unsettlingly athletic for his size. He's a force when pass blocking, but refreshingly, he's also very good when opening up holes for running backs.
Notable players available: Alfred Collins, Josaiah Stewart, DJ Giddens, Cameron Skattebo, Quinn Ewers
104. Jack Sawyer, EDGE Ohio State
6'4" 260 lbs
One of the most underestimated players in this draft, the Browns grab Jack Sawyer in round 4 to pair up with Myles Garrett, Isaiah McGuire, Alex Wright, Ogbo Okoronkwo, and company to do just what he did at Ohio State, get after the quarterback. Sawyer possesses one of my favorite traits from an edge rusher – he finds a way to make a play even if he doesn't get to the quarterback. Sawyer isn't the most athletic, or the fastest, but he's got that uncanny ability to consistently impact the game. I'd love to see that at work across from Myles Garrett on Sundays.
Notable players available: Alfred Collins, Terrance Ferguson, Ajani Cornelius, Anthony Belton, Joshua Farmer
192. Jay Higgins, LB Iowa
6'0" 231 lbs
Higgins is just one of those linebackers you hate going up against if you are a quarterback, as he always seems to know where you want to go with the football. While he's not the biggest or fastest linebacker, he plays with an instinct that always puts him around the ball. He'd be a great compliment backer for the Browns, especially on passing downs, where he really excels in coverage.
Notable players available: Dillon Gabriel, Elijah Roberts, Dylan Sampson, Aeneas Peebles, Corey Kiner
200. Willie Lampkin, IOL North Carolina
5'11" 291 lbs
I love this kid. Willie Lampkin is entirely too small to be as good as he consistently is, earning First-Team All-American honors for the Tar Heels this year. He is an absolute technician on the interior line, just flat-out understanding what it takes to win against supremely talented defensive lineman who are much bigger than he is. Once Lampkin engages in a block, it's virtually impossible for defenders to disengage, and he excels in getting into the second level of a defense to open up holes. He'd be a great depth piece for the Cleveland Browns, who need to start thinking long-term when it comes to their guards.
Notable players available: RJ Harvey, Tahj Brooks, Corey Kiner, Trevor Etienne, Upton Stout
216. Dante Trader Jr., S Maryland
5'11" 203 lbs
Another position the Browns will most certainly look to address in the draft is Safety, and Trader gives them a really nice option here in the sixth round. The only thing Trader really doesn't bring to the table is explosiveness. He's just a very solid, well-rounded safety who could see quick opportunities with the Browns. He's really good in coverage, he's a solid blitzer, and he's got a miniscule missed tackle rate. Grabbing him here in the sixth round would feel like a big win for the Browns.
Notable players available: Dillon Gabriel, Jordan James, Joshua Gray, Devin Neal, Kobe King
257. Efton Chism, WR Eastern Washington
5'11" 201 lbs
To close things out, the Browns grab one of my favorite end-of-draft prospects in Eastern Washington's Efton Chism. I believe this kid has all the makings of the next small-school wideout to make it big in the league. He's a great route runner, he wins constantly at the point of attack, and he's extremely quick. He may not blow you away with straight-line speed, but he has enough speed to get open and outrun defenders frequently. I really wanted to grab a wide receiver earlier in this draft, but never found myself in the right spot. Here, with the Browns' last pick of the draft, it's the perfect spot to grab this diamond in the rough.
The Cleveland Browns Have Plenty Of Cash & Salary Cap To Spend
Despite some reports that the Cleveland Browns are limited in terms of cash and salary cap space the reports are not true. Let us breakdown the numbers and see what space they have.
Jack Duffin18 hrs
There have been reports that the Cleveland Browns can't make offers to players like Russell Wilson compared to other teams due to their limiting spending power. Let us look at these claims from Adam Schefter to see if these claims stack up.
When it comes to spending there are two things to look at the salary cap and cash.
Cash - This gives you the exact figure of what is being given to the player each year and is the core part of roster construction. The cash paid to a player makes up the salary cap; you just manipulate it with signing/option bonuses. Cash budgets are very real in NFL teams, but something you never really hear covered in the media.
Cap Hit - The salary cap is what the accountants will focus on, how teams manage the cash they are spending. It could be $11m of cash paid to a player but as a $1m base salary and a $10m signing bonus. While the cash is easy to work out the salary cap would be $3m in the first year, then $2m in the four subsequent years. The salary cap in one-year windows is a really bad way to follow what is happening, in 3 years or large samples it can be more telling. This is one of the many reasons I focus more on the cash that the accounting output.
Salary Cap Space
The Cleveland Browns current cap space on Over The Cap is $10,216,407.
We are still missing some moves that will change this, they have been reported but we don't have the exact numbers yet so these are approximations:
Jack Conklin reworked deal +$11m
Maliek Collins deal -$2m
Joe Tryon-Shoyinka deal -$1m
This leaves the Browns with approximately $18m of salary cap space.
They can easily generate more:
Greg Newsome trade +$12.4 (less than his contract as you need to replace him with a minimum deal on the roster)
Denzel Ward restructure +$10,256,800
Ethan Pocic restructure +$3,524,000
If they decide not to trade Newsome they are still looking at over $30m of cap space.
Cash Spending
I have written a few articles previously on how much the Cleveland Browns are likely to spend each offseason, here is a recent version.
To try and predict how much Andrew Berry and Jimmy Haslam will spend on the 2025 Cleveland Browns, I have looked at how much cash they have spent against the NFL salary cap each season. I have used an average of 2020 and 2022 because 2021 was such an outlier due to the Covid impact.
To predict how much they will spend on the 2025 roster, I will take 20% of the 2022 spend, 30% of 2023, and 50% of 2024. This gives us an annual increase in the cash spent of 123.0%; if we factor this into the 2025 salary cap projection of $279,200,000, we get a likely cash spend for the team in 2025 of $343,416,000.
To predict the spending by position room, we need to factor in the quarterback spending as it differs so significantly, from $8,951,180 in 2020, then $11,106,770 in 2021, $60,767,500 in 2022, $47,092,268 in 2023 and $50,915,000 in 2024.
Once we remove the quarterback spending, then for each position, I will use the same 20/30/50 split on the average per position of the last three years and multiply this by the budget to get our position-by-position spending.
Here is the projected Cleveland Browns cash spend per position in 2025 versus what they are paying today on players currently under contract. These figures are very much about giving you an idea of what Andrew Berry has spent on each position room in the past. It isn't telling you what he will do in the future, and any position room in which he spends more will mean a cut to another area.
Here is the projected roster I am using to come to a cash projection:
QB - Watson, Pickett
RB - Ford, Strong, Min
WR - Jeudy, Tillman, Bell, Thrash, Min, Min
TE - Njoku, Whiteheart, Bates
T - Jones, Conklin, Lucas, Min
G/C - Bitonio, Pocic, Teller, Zinter, Wypler
ED - Garrett, Okoronkwo, Wright, McGuire, Tryon-Shoyinka ($4.75m)
DT - Collins ($10m), Harris, Hall, Briggs, Kamara
LB - Hicks, JOK, Bush, Watson, Diabate, Reid
CB - Ward, Newsome, Emerson, Mitchell, Harden, Anusiem
S - Delpit, Hickman, Min, Min, Min
ST - Hopkins, Bojoquez, Sunahara
Conclusion
If they want to sign Russell Wilson to a $30m one year deal, I don't think he will get that much but it shows what is possible.
This will come with a salary cap number of roughly $7m, they will need to account for $6m of cap space as it will push someone off the roster, which is easily possible. At the same time the cash budget will be around $29m less as one player will drop off the roster to balance this out.
They can free up even more space if they want too in both budgets, players like Okoronkwo is due $6m this year and could depart. At the same time they could look at Alex Wright's $3.4m and decide he isn't worth this as the fifth edge on the roster if they draft Carter at two.
The Cleveland Browns are in a strong position financially, while they would love to have another $46m in the cash budget due to no Watson, they might outspend that this year as they know they have some insurance money coming back to them. While we don't know that value, they will have a good picture in the front office.
247Sports Embed Resource