{"id":867744,"date":"2026-04-16T14:24:23","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T14:24:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/867744\/"},"modified":"2026-04-16T14:24:23","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T14:24:23","slug":"cleveland-browns-have-long-been-planning-to-address-specific-position-early-in-2026-nfl-draft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/867744\/","title":{"rendered":"Cleveland Browns Have Long Been Planning to Address Specific Position Early in 2026 NFL Draft"},"content":{"rendered":"

Boasting the sixth and 24th overall picks in the 2026 NFL Draft, the Cleveland Browns<\/a> head into April 23 in an advantageous position. They\u2019re one of five teams with two first-round selections. Yet, even after the first day, the Browns still have a chance to add a few potential starters, as they also have the 39th, 70th, and 107th overall picks, and a total of nine selections overall.<\/p>\n

Browns general manager Andrew Berry will have several opportunities to address Cleveland\u2019s biggest needs. But some weaknesses are more glaring than others, and the Browns are expected to address them early on.<\/p>\n

According to Essentially Sports\u2019 NFL insider Tony Pauline<\/a>\u2018s sources, \u201cAB wants o-line early and has been telling people since last season.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve reported multiple times that the team believes they can slide Utah offensive lineman Spencer Fano over to the left tackle spot to fill a hole at that position. As someone told me Monday evening, \u201cAB wants o-line early and has been telling people since last season\u201d; AB refers to Browns general manager Andrew Berry. There\u2019s no denying that even with a quarterback dilemma, the Browns first need to improve their offensive line. \u201c<\/p>\n

Tony Pauline on Cleveland Browns\u2019 draft plans<\/p>\n

There are several offensive tackle prospects projected to be first-round picks, and with so many top pass-rushers available at the top, the Browns are expected to be the first team to select a lineman. That means they\u2019ll have first dibs at the top offensive lineman on their draft board, whether it be someone like Fano or Francis Mauigoa, or another prospect who Cleveland feels can handle left tackle remains to be seen.<\/p>\n

Pauline\u2019s sources add that the Browns also will not be trading All-Pro pass-rusher Myles Garrett this offseason. With Garrett under contract through 2029, there\u2019s no motivation on Cleveland\u2019s side to part with a \u201cgenerational talent\u201d who just broke the NFL\u2019s single-season sack record. <\/p>\n

Related: 2026 NFL Mock Draft: Trades Take Over First Round of NFL Draft<\/a><\/p>\n

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\t\tDedicated NFL copywriter\/editor. My work has been found on Sportsnaut, Sports Illustrated, Sporting News, MSN, Yahoo, and Minnesota Sports … More about Andrew Buller-Russ<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Boasting the sixth and 24th overall picks in the 2026 NFL Draft, the Cleveland Browns head into April…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":867745,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2054],"tags":[86,85,54,2337,7,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-867744","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cleveland-browns","8":"tag-browns","9":"tag-cleveland","10":"tag-cleveland-browns","11":"tag-clevelandbrowns","12":"tag-football","13":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116414846170445784","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/867744","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=867744"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/867744\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/867745"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=867744"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=867744"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=867744"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}