The calendar has officially flipped to April, which means we are in the home stretch for the 2024 NFL Draft. We're 22 days away from Day 1 on April 25.
The Browns don't hold a first-round pick this year but will make their first pick of the draft on Day 2 in the second round at No. 54. The outlook from draft experts and analysts have fluctuated on how the Browns use this first pick – especially as the initial wave of free agency came and went. There is a level of unpredictability at No. 54 in the second round depending on how the first round and the early portion of the second round shakes out.
During the NFL Annual League Meetings, Executive Vice President of Football Operations and General Manager Andrew Berry said that there is a need for them to be flexible when it comes to their second-round pick.
"You can't dictate the draft at 54, so you have to be flexible," Berry said. "We don't think of the draft as (addressing) need necessarily. We think about it as more like long-term investment in the roster."
With that in mind, in the first mock draft for ClevelandBrowns.com, staff writer Kelsey Russo and radio and podcast producer Jason Gibbs make their own predictions for Cleveland's second-round pick. Check back next week for a look at the third round, where the Browns hold pick No. 85.
Jason Gibbs
Ok kids, back at it again! If you don't like my picks blame Kelsey, she made me do it 😊. Ok maybe not. I'm thinking more about the position than the actual name for now.
DT Michael Hall Jr. (Ohio State) – OH!!! The Browns go best player available here and continue to build depth on that interior defensive line. 6-foot-3, 290 pounds. Had a big Senior Bowl week which helped him. He's a guy that Jim Schwartz might be able to move around in his defense. And who doesn't love the Browns drafting a Buckeye?!?!
Kelsey Russo
There seems to be so many different directions the Browns could go here with this first pick in the second round. On one hand, I completely agree with Gibbs and could see the Browns adding depth and a young player to their defensive line with someone like Hall or even DT T'Vondre Sweat. Yet, keeping in mind what Berry said, the moves the Browns made in free agency and assessing overall roster, I am going to flip to the offensive side of the ball and look at the receivers.
WR Malachi Corley (Western Kentucky) – Different draft experts and analysts have talked about how good of a receiver class is in this year's draft class. Even with the acquisition and extension of Jerry Jeudy, the Browns could add depth to their receiving corps and bring in a young player to learn from the other veterans in the room. A guy like Corley could be a fit because of his skillset as a pass catcher. At 5-foot-11, 215 pounds, he gives the feel of a running back in that pass-catching role who can get yards-after-the-catch and break tackles. He finished his collegiate career at Western Kentucky with 259 receptions for 3,035 receiving yards and 29 touchdowns. He also had 16 carries for 92 yards.
