The Cleveland Browns 2025 NFL draft, along with DE Myles Garrett, is the team’s foundation. ESPN’s redraft changes that
One of the main reasons that GM Andrew Berry did not join HC Kevin Stefanski on the unemployment line after the 2025 season was the success of the Cleveland Browns 2025 NFL draft class. The Browns rookie class was not ranked first overall at the end of the season, somewhat surprisingly, but has many hopeful for the future as the foundation of what is to come.
A quick look at the class shows why so many look at Cleveland’s future as potentially bright:
- DT Mason Graham – Was good against the run, improved against the pass as the season went on
- LB Carson Schwesinger – The assumed Defensive Rookie of the Year has been noted as one of the top overall linebackers in the game
- RB Quinshon Judkins – Shouldered the load on offense despite a bad line and lack of a passing game
- TE Harold Fannin Jr. – An explosive rookie season, including top 30 overall in receptions and touchdowns
- QB Dillon Gabriel – Started multiple games as a rookie
- RB Dylan Sampson – Contributed 65 carries, 33 receptions in just 249 snaps of backup duty, showing explosiveness with the ball in his hands
- QB Shedeur Sanders – Started multiple games as a rookie
- 2026 NFL draft 1st round pick from the Jacksonville Jaguars
Just one year after last year’s NFL draft, ESPN has done a redraft that would totally change the Browns roster as well as their future. To start, they have Cleveland drafting QB Tyler Shough with the second overall pick:
Shough’s sample size (nine starts) is still small, and there’s no knowing how he would have performed with Cleveland’s supporting cast. But he impressed in less-than-ideal circumstances in New Orleans.
Instead of Graham, Schwesinger, and the 2026 1st round pick, the Browns would have a 26-year-old quarterback heading into his second season, coming off a year with 10 touchdowns and six interceptions, while completing 68% of his passes.
The redraft has Schwesinger being selected much higher, the 19th overall pick, and Graham being selected two spots later. Fannin is still in the orange and brown but is selected with the first pick in the second round, while Judkins stays in his original #36 spot, this time to the Jaguars.
A positive sign for the draft class is that four of Berry’s picks would all be selected in the first 36 selections if the draft were redone a year later. The difference between what happened and what this redraft creates is stark, however:
- Actual 2025 NFL draft: Graham, Schwesinger, Judkins, Fannin, and a 2026 first-round pick
- Redrafted 2025 NFL draft: Shough, Fannin
In many ways, how you feel about the redraft, especially compared to the actual draft, depends on your thoughts on Shough. If you believe he’s a clear top-level, franchise quarterback, almost anything is worth it. If you do not, this redraft would create a much weaker present and future for the Browns franchise.
What are your thoughts on the idea of Tyler Shough as Cleveland’s pick with the second overall pick and how the rest of the redraft would have impacted the Browns roster?
Join the conversation or share your thoughts in the comment section below
Category: General Sports
