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Ty Simpson #15 of the Alabama Crimson Tide could be a key to creating value at pick No. 6 for the Cleveland Browns.
As we get rolling on the personnel portion of the NFL offseason, with the changes to the coaching staff now all in place under new head coach Todd Monken, the Cleveland Browns will be thinking about the free agents they’ll need to add to bolster a team that has a star-laden defense that ranked among the best in the league–and an NFL-worst offense that finished with the worst Pro Football Focus ranking since that site began tracking units around the NFL two decades ago.
But if there’s one reason the Browns do not feel as bad internally about their moribund offense as outside observers feel about it, it’s because the team racked up some pretty good pieces to build around in last year’s draft–especially the promising young running back combo of Quinshon Judkins and Dylan Sampson.
Add in tight end Harold Fannin and, potentially, quarterback Shedeur Sanders, and the Browns have young talent to develop.
Browns Got 3 Extra Picks in Draft Trade
They also have two first-round picks this year, and that gives the Browns some confidence that they could use those picks to build up the offensive talent–or make the second blockbuster draft-day trade dead in as many years.
Last year, at the NFL draft, the Browns traded away the second overall pick to the Jaguars, who were aggressively trying to land a star-caliber player and wanted Colorado’s Travis Hunter. The Browns pretty well fleeced the Jaguars on the trade, plucking the No. 5 pick in 2025, along with second- and fourth-rounders, and Jacksonville’s first-rounder this season.
Hunter was unimpressive last season even before he suffered a season-ending injury in Week 9. The Browns, meanwhile, picked starting defensive tackle Mason Graham, along with Judkins and Sampson with the picks they got from Jacksonville.
And they could do it again with this year’s No. 6 overall pick, according to a report from Cleveland.com beat writer Mary Kay Cabot, who writes that the Browns, “will explore opportunities to trade down from No. 6 in hopes of finding a blockbuster deal like last year.”
Ty Simpson Could Be a Key to Creating Demand at No. 6
Of course, making a trade like that is easier said than done. The main reason it worked for the Browns last season was the perception that Hunter would be a star, having won the Heisman Trophy award after he ranked among the best receivers and best cornerbacks in the nation during his final year of college. There was incentive for the Jags to move up in that case.
Is there anyone in this draft who will be on the board at No. 6 who could warrant a trade up? And if that player is as good as other teams might think, maybe the Browns ought to be drafting him themselves.
Cabot raises the possibility of Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson moving up some draft boards and being a player other teams would trade up to pick. But few teams are as desperate for a quarterback as the Browns. If Simpson is worthy of the No. 6 pick, maybe Cleveland should be the team picking him.
But the more picks the Browns can get, the better.
As Cabot wrote, “If a team loves Simpson or another player and makes the Browns an offer they can’t refuse, they’ll once again jump at the chance. The Browns are admittedly in rebuilding mode and can use all the high picks they can get.”
Sean Deveney is a veteran sports reporter covering the NBA, NFL and MLB for Heavy.com. He has written for Heavy since 2019 and has more than two decades of experience covering the NBA, including 17 years as the lead NBA reporter for the Sporting News. Deveney is the author of 7 nonfiction books, including “Fun City,” “Before Wrigley became Wrigley,” and “Facing Michael Jordan.” More about Sean Deveney
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