Four players the Browns could draft in the first round
By Rhys Knott
Cleveland has the second pick in the draft, which gives them plenty of options. If they believe Kenny Pickett can be a starting quarterback for one season they could even trade the pick for future picks. They could have one eye on Arch Manning who is eligible for the 2026 draft. 17 games with Pickett under centre can definitely secure a high pick.
But logic dictates the Browns must have told Myles Garrett they are going to draft another pass rusher to help him out. That’ll be Abdul Carter then. Or, if they see Pickett as a backup quarterback, are they going to pick a quarterback?
Then there’s the injury-prone Nick Chubb, who is an unrestricted free agent. So maybe they are in the market for a new running back? Or could they simply take the most exciting player in the entire draft?
Abdul Carter, EDGE, Penn State
Carter is very fast and very smart, and he’s very difficult to stop. He seems to understand the offenses he faces better than some of the players on those offenses. But even if he is just reacting to what is happening, Carter gets off the ball faster and with more explosion than anyone attempting to block him.
The Philadelphia native recorded 12 of his 23 career sacks in his senior year, but more impressively, he made 24 tackles for a loss! Carter lined up as a defensive end in a 4-3 defense at college. He would be an interesting prospect opposite Garrett. But he’s 22 pounds lighter than Garrett!
Carter should fit straight into Jim Schwarz’s scheme, but he may be too small to line up as an end. However, with no return date set for Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah after his nasty neck injury, it would make sense to draft someone who can rush the passer as a stand-up linebacker. Carter recorded some of his sacks in college from the linebacker position. He identifies holes in the offensive line before they appear and times his movements perfectly. Arriving in the backfield at top speed to cause maximum disruption.
The Big Ten defensive player of the year didn’t perform at the combine or the Penn State pro day. He has previously clocked a 4.48 40-yard time, though, which is in the 99th percentile of this EDGE class!
The former La Salle High School student claims he should be the first overall pick. While he certainly has the talent, the Titans have more significant issues on offense than defense. Nobody expects Carter to fall below the fourth overall pick, though. But there should be some questions about his consistency. He was phenomenal last year but less impressive in his first two seasons.
Abdul Carter pro comp: a velociraptor
— JP Acosta (@acosta32jp.bsky.social) March 26, 2025 at 8:58 PM
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Shedeur Sanders, QB, Colorado
Shedeur Sanders #NFLDraft He pulls this scramble off where he reverses field twice before completing an opposite-boundary throw. He prolongs his share of plays from the pocket, but I'm skeptical this translates nearly as routinely on Sunday
— Matt Waldman (@mattwaldman.bsky.social) February 16, 2025 at 6:27 AM
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Assuming Cam Ward is to be the Titans’ first pick and that seems to be the general consensus, although Ward’s high ceiling and very low floor are Will Levis-esque), Sanders could be the best quarterback available. He’s been labelled the “most refined pocket passer in the class”.
Based on the level of competition they faced in college, it’s difficult to know what to expect from both Colorado stars in this class. One thing we can say with a degree of certainty is that Coach Prime has been giving them the hard sell for at least 12 months. If they are as good as he says, then they’re going to improve any team.
As the old saying goes, “you can only beat what is put in front of you”. Sanders beat 13 of the teams that were in front of him in Colorado. He also set a new FBS career record when he completed 71.8% of the 907 passes he threw in two seasons.
The 2024 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award winner threw 37 touchdowns with just 10 interceptions last season and averaged 318 passing yards per game!
Sanders ran a 4.68 second 40-yard time, placing him in the 80th percentile of the class. Even so, he isn’t much of a running threat out of the backfield. He scored 17 rushing touchdowns in his four seasons at college, but he ended three with negative rushing yard totals. Sanders can scramble to extend plays, but he’s no Kyler Murray.
The 23-year-old projects as either the second or third overall pick, but a few experts see him fitting into Kellen Moore’s plans in New Orleans. A QB room involving Kenny Pickett, Deshaun Watson on crutches and Shedeur conjures up an odd mental image, but this is the Browns after all.
Ashton Jeanty, RB, Boise State
Ashton Jeanty forced 158 missed tackles as a runner in 2024. Closest to him was Cam Skattebo at 105 Went through the years on @PFF - since 2010, no RB had more than 105 missed tackles forced until Jeanty blew that away this year
— Michael F. Florio (@michaelfflorio.bsky.social) February 20, 2025 at 11:18 PM
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Running backs accounted for seven of 2024’s top 10 touchdown scorers in the NFL. Both Jalen Hurts and Josh Allen (who run like running backs) also made the top 10.
Despite missing the final game of the Eagles season, Saquon Barkley ended the regular season with more rushing yards than 20 NFL teams! All of which serves as a kick in the teeth for the “never draft a running back in the first round” crowd.
Comparing Jeanty (or anyone) to Saquon would be lazy and inaccurate. But Jeanty carries the same air of someone willing to put a team on his back and drag them across the finish line as Saquon. Cleveland has sorely missed a back who can do that since Nick Chubb’s 2022 season.
The multi-award-winning Jeanty had a staggering senior year in the Mountain West Conference. He touched the ball 397 times! The 21-year-old racked up 2,739 yards from the line of scrimmage, scoring 30 touchdowns in 14 regular season games! He is the highest-graded running back in the PFF era, ahead of Jonathan Taylor and Blake Corum.
Jeanty didn’t put up great numbers in the college playoff game against Penn State, though. He still racked up 104 yards on the ground and scored a touchdown, but it took 30 attempts as the Broncos’ offensive line was manhandled by the Nittany Lions.
The Florida native wasn’t a massive part of the passing game at Boise State, though. He caught 80 passes, but he ran the ball 750 times! And he only scored six receiving touchdowns compared to 50 on the ground.
Jeanty projects as the 6th overall pick, and a lot of people expect Denver to add him to their already-stacked running back stocks (they’ve got four, including last year’s fifth-round pick Audric Estime). That doesn’t appear to be a great fit, but Sean Payton is pretty eccentric. A Browns backfield of Jerome Ford, Pierre Strong and Jeanty would be very useful, though.
Travis Hunter. WR/ CB, Colorado
An innovative coach will make Hunter one of the biggest stars in the league. He is one of the most athletically gifted players to enter the draft in living memory. However, his physical attributes may also confound some of the more vanilla coaches.
According to Colorado’s official website, in a 13-game season, 21-year-old Hunter played 748 snaps with the offense in 2024 and 902 with the defense! Even with an extra four games in the NFL season, it seems unlikely he’ll manage to play 1,650 snaps (Xavier Woods led the league with 1,218 snaps last year).
Hunter is a ballhawk. Even as a receiver, he tracks the ball better than everyone else and beats them to it. He is rated as an elite receiving prospect by some. While he has good footwork and runs multiple routes, he seems to lack the size to survive contact in the NFL. At 188 pounds, he is only in the 30th percentile of the cornerback class.
His size is less of a problem as a defensive back. He certainly doesn’t avoid tackling. But it will prevent him from making as many yards after the catch as a Luther Burden III will.
Consequently, Hunter will probably play more snaps on defense and occasionally feature as a receiver, like Marcus Jones does with the Patriots. How he features on offense will depend on the coach, he scored a rushing touchdown for the Buffaloes, on a reverse. His speed will affect defenses and makes him a threat whenever he gets the ball in his hands. Just sending him in motion pre-snap will create space for him or other pass catchers.
The Florida native has fallen from the projected first pick to the third overall. He is going to be a good player, but ultimately, his success will depend on where he lands and how he is used.
When you watch a lot of Colorado tape you see how often Travis Hunter a. makes Shedeur right and b. makes difficult catches (like this) look easy. Extremely special player.
— Mina Kimes (@minakimes.bsky.social) April 4, 2025 at 11:29 PM
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RHYS KNOTT
NFL/FANTASY FOOTBALL ANALYST
Rhys has been watching the NFL for 30 something years and still hasn’t managed to pick a team to support. When he’s not fixatED on pass rushers you can find him blithering on about most sports on Twitter @wrhys_writes