{"id":869378,"date":"2026-04-18T19:36:39","date_gmt":"2026-04-18T19:36:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/869378\/"},"modified":"2026-04-18T19:36:39","modified_gmt":"2026-04-18T19:36:39","slug":"browns-drafting-defense-in-round-1-is-a-real-possibility-according-to-espn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/869378\/","title":{"rendered":"Browns drafting defense in Round 1 is a ‘real possibility’ according to ESPN"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Cleveland Browns<\/a> are looking to make some major headway in their roster construction during the 2026 NFL Draft. They own three highly valuable picks and could make multiple splash additions this year.<\/p>\n

While the 37th pick in Round 2 is a valuable selection, their No. 6 and No. 24 picks are a whole lot more valuable. They could select multiple key starters, with wide receiver and offensive line two of the top priorities for Cleveland this year.<\/p>\n

However, ESPN’s Daniel Oyefusi<\/a> notes that there is a “real possibility” that general manager Andrew Berry makes the surprising decision to draft a defensive player in Round 1.<\/p>\n

Browns have ‘real possibility’ to draft defense in Round 1<\/p>\n

“However, Berry has preached a best player available philosophy,” Oyefusi writes, “so Cleveland taking a defensive player is a real possibility.”<\/p>\n

If the Browns do wind up taking a defensive player in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft, the most likely spot would not be at No. 6, but rather the 24th pick.<\/p>\n

While someone like Caleb Downs, Sonny Styles, Ruben Bain Jr., or even one of Arvell Reese or David Bailey would be a fun addition to the defense, they’re much more likely to go OL or WR at their early draft pick.<\/p>\n

But, if they’re picking at No. 24 and a good defender is still on the board at either cornerback, safety, or defensive line, they might not hesitate to pull the trigger on a defender in Round 1.<\/p>\n

More:\u00a0Todd Monken reveals QB plan for Browns thats good news for Shedeur Sanders<\/a><\/p>\n

Dillon Thieneman, the Oregon safety, could be a name to watch at the 24th pick if he falls that far. One of the Tennessee cornerbacks, Colton Hood or Jermod McCoy, would also be in play at 24th overall.<\/p>\n

Defense at the 24th pick is very much in play, especially if the Browns don’t have a good option for wide receiver or offensive line at this pick.<\/p>\n

If they go one or the other early in the draft, and their second first-rounder comes on the clock and the other position they need isn’t available, defense would be a realistic pivot.<\/p>\n

With a solid wide receiver class, the Browns could wait until 37th overall and still pick up a solid option for Shedeur Sanders or whoever the quarterback is.<\/p>\n

Berry and the Browns going defense in Round 1 is a “real possibility,” so fans should keep in mind during the draft which defenders are falling, as Myles Garrett might be getting some extra help around him early in this year’s draft.<\/p>\n

More Browns news:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Cleveland Browns are looking to make some major headway in their roster construction during the 2026 NFL…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":808138,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2054],"tags":[86,85,54,2337,7,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-869378","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\/116427396434022634","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/869378","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=869378"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/869378\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/808138"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=869378"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=869378"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=869378"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}