How Todd Monken approaches building out his coaching staff

What does Monken see as his participation level in the 2026 NFL Draft?

The Browns have 10 total draft picks in the upcoming 2026 NFL Draft, including the sixth overall pick and the 24th overall pick. They have their own picks in Rounds 2-5, as well as a fifth-round pick from Las Vegas (QB Kenny Pickett trade), a fifth-round pick from Cincinnati (QB Joe Flacco trade), a sixth-round pick from Chicago (DE Joe Tryon-Shoyinka trade) and a seventh-round pick from Seattle (C Nick Harris trade).

As Monken evaluates the roster and the coaching staff builds their schemes around their players, the rookies added through the draft will play an important role not only in the success of the team during the 2026 season, but also the future.

“Well first off, I certainly want to be involved,” Monken said. “I put it this way, like any organization, I think when we are connected at the hip – me, Andrew Berry and ownership – I think like all of us, we would like our say. But there are certain areas where you are not going to get your way. I think just like Andrew is going to trust the call that we make on fourth-and-1, I’m going to trust his call in the draft. But we’re all involved in how we get there. I think that’s a collective way of approaching it, I think it’s always best.”

As the front office moves through the draft process and narrows down their list of potential players to add through the draft, Monken described certain character traits as non-negotiables that he looks for in young players that will fit the overall culture he is creating.

“When I think of what you want for non-negotiables, you want guys that love football, like to compete, like to work,” Monken said. “Because if they don’t like to work, they are not going to like it here. It’s going to be a disappointment if we draft them and they don’t like to work. That’s just the way it’s going to be. So that’s a non-negotiable for those guys. And then after that, there are certain physical traits that are minimums, but ultimately, we’ve got to take the best player. The best player, and then we’ve got to make it work. [The goal] is to get guys that like to work and will understand that it’s a developmental league and we’re always under construction – individually and as a team.”