[DAY 2 LIVE BLOG FOR FRIDAY’S ROUNDS 2-3 IS HERE]
The 2025 NFL Draft officially begins for the Cleveland Browns and the rest of the teams in the NFL tonight at 8:00 pm ET. For Browns fans, the good news is that the team actually has a first-round pick again for the first time in years! They will be on the clock at No. 2 overall, where three players seem to be candidates: WR/CB Travis Hunter, DE Abdul Carter, and QB Shedeur Sanders. Cleveland will also listen to trade offers, in the event someone really blows them away.
We will have all of your Browns-related coverage on the draft here at Dawgs By Nature throughout the weekend. This thread will act as a “live blog,” with updates about the latest small rumors, picks, or trades involving Cleveland or other NFL teams. You should also use the comments section as your NFL Draft open thread! (Newest updates will be at the top of the live blog below)
Browns NFL Draft Live Blog
10:24 PM: The Steelers just picked, so 21 picks are now in the books. Here are the players remaining on the Browns DBN Big Board, in the event Cleveland is enticed to move up for someone:
9:12 PM: Book it — the 2025 NFL schedule will be unveiled on May 14, 2025. That is a Wednesday.
9:08 PM: Man, it feels so good to be able to do a relevant Day 1 live blog for the draft again. That includes some fun stuff, like when Draw Play Dave illustrates each team’s pick every year with a theme:
9:05 PM: Browns GM Andrew Berry is talking to the Cleveland media right now. When asked, given the ammunition he’s added, if there’s a chance they could still trade back up into the first round tonight, he said, “Never say never.”
You shouldn’t read into that a ton, but there have been times in past drafts where Berry has confirmed they were done for the night. We’ll certainly keep our eyes open — with No. 33 and No. 36 overall in their pocket, they definitely have what it takes to move up if there’s a player they really want. At the same time, doing a trade like that would also somewhat diminish the ammunition they acquired by moving down from No. 2 overall in the first place.
Berry also said that it was “not true” that they had an offer to move down from No. 5 overall, which was a surprisingly candid answer.
9:04 PM: I have heard the same, that the Browns would not have made the move without one of just a couple of players likely available. Likely old friend Mike Vrabel helped them feel comfortable with the move since it didn’t impact who was there for the Pats at 4:
Browns entered trade talks knowing it had to secure a player on their ‘very short list,’ per source — Travis Hunter, Abdul Carter, Mason Graham. Trading with Jaguars kept them in range of that.
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) April 25, 2025
8:56 PM: According to the Jaguars general manager, the framework of the trade with Cleveland was in place since early April:
#Jaguars GM James Gladstone said the framework for this trade for No. 2 / Travis Hunter has been in place since early April. “We had a good idea the last couple weeks that this was going to come to fruition.” pic.twitter.com/bnK1CpVksI
— Henry McKenna (@henrycmckenna) April 25, 2025
8:46 PM: He may not hold much public weight these days, but it’s still interesting to hear what former Browns head Joe Banner chimes in about the team. He called the trade “immediately one of the worst trades ever for the Jaguars.”
More years of failure for Jags fans and hope for Browns.
— Joe Banner (@JoeBanner13) April 25, 2025
8:39 PM: The Browns stayed at No. 5, and selected DT Mason Graham. Here is our initial quick write up on Graham.
8:32 PM: Open to moving down again?
The Cleveland Browns are taking calls from teams interested in the No. 5 pick, per source.
I’m told they’re open to moving down again.
— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) April 25, 2025
8:30 PM: By the way, Huntington Bank Field is hosting a Browns draft party too, and had Journey play earlier. I wonder if there’s a crowd reaction clip somewhere of the trade?
8:28 PM: Will the Browns stay at No. 5 now? We’ve got this so far:
No. 1 – Titans – QB Cam Ward
No. 2 – Jaguars – WR/CB Travis Hunter
No. 3 – Giants – EDGE Abdul Carter
It seems like DT Mason Graham would be a good fit for the Browns at No. 5 overall, but do they have something else in mind? They’ve already thrown us one curveball.
8:18 PM: That didn’t take long. The Browns traded out of No. 2 overall, falling back to No. 5 overall. Here are the complete trade details. That means no Travis Hunter for Cleveland.
8:16 PM: The Titans took QB Cam Ward, and now the Browns are on the clock at No. 2. Will they move out?
8:15 PM: Mary Kay Cabot of the Plain Dealer believes the Browns will be moving down to No. 5 overall shortly:
#Browns in heated talks to trade down from 2 with #Jaguars to No. 5. When they’re on the clock soon, I believe this will happen.
— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) April 25, 2025
8:12 PM: Parameters in place for a trade:
8:08 PM: Might be a long night of moves:
If the Browns trade down with the Jaguars, they might not be done. The No. 5 pick could be a landing spot for a team like the Bears to come up from No. 10, according to a source. First round is about to get interesting…
— Jeff Howe (@jeffphowe) April 25, 2025
7:49 PM: A lot of people are packed into the draft theater general admission area in Green Bay:
7:39 PM: Per Jay Glazer, a trade between the Browns and Jaguars “could go down.” Jacksonville holds the No. 5 overall pick.
Jaguars and Browns trade looks like it could go down and talks are happening but nothing done til done obviously
— Jay Glazer (@JayGlazer) April 24, 2025
7:25 PM: Both to make sure that they get the best deal possible as well as certainty at who is available at #2, Cleveland won’t be making any kind of trade until they are on the clock. Earlier today, we posted what time we believe they will be on the clock:
My understanding is we won’t know if the #browns are moving out of the second overall pick until they are on the clock. They are certainly listening to offers right now and teams are calling. buckle up.
— James Palmer (@JamesPalmerTV) April 24, 2025
7:11 PM: More…
7:09 PM: Now more local, Mary Kay Cabot, noting something could happen:
#Browns are believed to have something cooking at No. 2, source says. Teams are calling. They’re listening. Strap in.
— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) April 24, 2025
6:56 PM: Jacksonville GM James Gladstone made the statement, “taking some calls to just tie up a few loose ends,” which has some wondering if that was related to conversations with Cleveland GM Andrew Berry. He follows that up with a statement about having the fifth pick so he was likely not giving anything away:
6:48 PM: A whole lot of uncertainty as we are a little over an hour until the NFL draft starts:
No final draft decision from Browns yet. But I was told by a trusted source “don’t be surprised if something unexpected happens.”
Browns big decision ahead: Travis Hunter, trade down (potentially with Jaguars) or Abdul Carter. https://t.co/5C36MQyP1i
— Cameron Wolfe (@CameronWolfe) April 24, 2025
6:25 PM: More details on Browns trade talks:
Couple of follows on this:
*Browns are aware of multiple teams exploring a potential move-up
*Team has ‘very short list’ of players they’d be comfortable leaving Thursday night with
*Would prefer to keep No. 33 overall due to Day 2 leverage that pick affords. https://t.co/MxkpWHNMBE
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) April 24, 2025
5:10 PM: Teams at the top of the draft continue to get calls with less than 3 hours to go:
The phone lines are getting busier as the first round nears, per sources.
The Broncos and Texans are attempting to move up the draft order, while the Giants are trying to acquire a second first-round pick at the back end of the round.
— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) April 24, 2025
4:42 PM: Trade down seems closer to 50/50 chance at this point but who knows for sure:
Hours away from the start of the first round, Browns GM Andrew Berry has been actively listening to offers for the No. 2 overall pick and many believe he’s willing to move a few spots back.
Cleveland has holes to fill and have just four top-100 picks to address them. pic.twitter.com/QUZRkdgmCR
— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) April 24, 2025
3:23 PM: Emphasizing how this year’s draft is taking place in Green Bay, a neighborhood town, you can see all the houses that are selling parking spaces for $100 and such. It sort of reminds me of how the houses that used to be in Berea would charge $20 to park closer to a training camp practice.
There is also a fence that is nicely painted in the area:
12:45 PM: According to FOX Sports’ Jordan Schultz, both Greg Newsome II and Ogbo Okoronkwo have been named as potential trade candidates heading into Round 1.
12:40 PM: This is a nice way of laying out how many picks each team has heading into the draft. It’s also the first time in forever that every team has a first round pick.
11:10 AM: A little humor is always fun to throw into the live blog, even if it’s self-deprecating humor:
11:00 AM: Even if the Browns stay at No. 2 overall, they could still be making a second pick on Day 1 by using No. 33 overall as part of a trade package. If they do so, could it be to move up for a quarterback prospect?
#Browns have 10 picks to work with. If I’m them, and I’m trading back into Round 1 for a QB, it would be for Jalen Milroe. Yes, he is a boom or bust prospect. But he’s an elite athlete, has a huge arm and as one GM told me this morning, has “the highest ceiling” in the class.
— Aditi Kinkhabwala (@AKinkhabwala) April 24, 2025
10:55 AM: How accurate is the DBN Big Board for the Browns compared to a national big board like Pro Football Focus put together? We did a comparison below — in the left two columns are the Top 40 rankings on PFF. The two columns on the right show what number that player appeared on the Browns’ big board, as well as the difference in ranking. Note: There should be at least some differences, because fans, for example, may feel the Browns need a quarterback and thus would rank them higher than PFF might grade them.
PFF vs. DBN Big Board Comparison
PFF Rank
Big Board According to PFF
DBN Rank
Difference
PFF Rank
Big Board According to PFF
DBN Rank
Difference
1
WR/CB Travis Hunter
3
-2
2
EDGE Abdul Carter
1
1
3
RB Ashton Jeanty
6
-3
4
WR Tetairoa McMillan
14
-10
5
DT Mason Graham
4
1
6
OT Will Campbell
7
-1
7
DT Walter Nolen
31
-24
8
S Malaki Starks
26
-18
9
OT Armand Membou
8
1
10
EDGE Mike Green
23
-13
11
CB Jahdae Barron
35
-24
12
TE Tyler Warren
10
2
13
LB Jihaad Campbell
28
-15
14
CB Will Johnson
12
2
15
WR Luther Burden III
27
-12
16
TE Colston Loveland
18
-2
17
EDGE Donovan Ezeiruaku
N/A
N/A
18
OT Josh Simmons
11
7
19
WR Emeka Egbuka
9
10
20
QB Cam Ward
2
18
21
DT Kenneth Grant
25
-4
22
OT Kelvin Banks Jr
13
9
23
EDGE James Pearce Jr
36
-13
24
WR Matthew Golden
19
5
25
LB Jalon Walker
17
8
26
RB Omarion Hampton
21
5
27
OL Grey Zabel
29
-2
28
CB Trey Amos
N/A
N/A
29
EDGE Nic Scourton
N/A
N/A
30
OT Josh Conerly Jr
24
6
31
EDGE Shemar Stewart
34
-3
32
CB Benjamin Morrison
N/A
N/A
33
S Kevin Winston Jr
N/A
N/A
34
DT Omarr Norman-Lott
N/A
N/A
35
WR Elic Ayomanor
N/A
N/A
36
S Xavier Watts
N/A
N/A
37
WR Jayden Higgins
N/A
N/A
38
EDGE Mykel Williams
37
1
39
EDGE Landon Jackson
N/A
N/A
40
WR Jack Bech
N/A
N/A
10:30 AM: You can see the final Top-40 of our Browns Big Board below, as voted on by the DBN Community. There is definitely a bit of an Ohio State bias in there. It’s also worth noting that the big board voting began a couple of weeks ago, and Travis Hunter has gained a lot of favor since then. We know Cam Ward will be gone when the Browns are on the clock, but fans will consider it a win if they select either Hunter or Abdul Carter. It’s a win either way.
9:10 AM: In the map of NFL Draft activities, you start off with Titletown on the left, near Entry Point 1. That area contains most of the Play 60 activities like the 40-yard dash, vertical jump, etc. As you continue walking toward Lambeau Field, you start seeing other activities, such as the fan draft stage, Super Bowl rings, autograph stage, and various sponsor booths. That area can also be reached by Entry Gate 2.
Some Play 60 activities will take place in Lambeau Field, but then on the Northeast side of the stadium, that’s where the draft stage itself — as well as the general admission draft theater viewing area — will be. It’s in front of the Expo building. One thing is for sure — if you’re a visitor attending the draft, you are not getting a big-city experience, but a community-driven one.
You can view bigger versions of the map here. I also like checking out Google Maps for some perspective.
8:28 AM: More and more rumors seem to point to teams that seem to need quarterbacks waiting. At this point, it is possible and maybe even likely that only one quarterback is selected within the first 23 picks (Minnesota Vikings seem like a prime spot for a team looking to move up). Even the Pittsburgh Steelers, who have Mason Rudolph as a starter, might not be excited about the QBs in this draft:
.@DMRussini just told us that she’s hearing the Steelers could be trying to trade out of the No. 21 pick.
— Andrew Perloff (@andrewperloff) April 24, 2025
7:00 AM: Good morning, Browns fans, and welcome to our annual NFL Draft live blog! Each year, I like to begin the live blog by taking a look at how the host city has set-up for the draft, including the draft stage. Let’s see how the layout looks for Green Bay, Wisconsin:
Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
A couple of notes about this year’s site:
Green Bay is the NFL’s smallest city, with a population of 107,544, and yet 250,000 fans are expected to attend the three-day event in Titletown.
One of the key selling points for Green Bay being selected to host the draft was their development of the Titletown District. There are homes that are a mere 75 yards away from the draft stage, so it is still very much a neighborhood area. However, Titletown was conceptualized as a shopping and entertainment destination to help build upon the presence of Lambeau Field and the Packers. Completed in 2017, it’s continued growth helped make it possible for Green Bay to host a draft logistically.
Here is a cool video showing the setup of the draft theater and green room:
Here are a few more scenes and decorations throughout the area:
We’ll try to have more NFL Draft Fan Experience notes during the afternoon on Thursday, when fans actually attend the festivities.