2017 NFL Draft: Experts Predict How 1st Round Will Unfold For Cleveland Browns
On the day of the 2017 NFL Draft, experts predict how the first-round will unfold for the Cleveland Browns, who hold the first and 12th overall selections.
It’s draft day, which is one of the biggest days in the year for fans of the Cleveland Browns.
The Browns truly find themselves in a potential franchise altering draft, as the team’s 11 picks, including three in the top 33, can rescue Cleveland from being the laughing stock of the NFL.
Will Sashi Brown and Paul DePodesta do what every person to even utter the phrase “Mock Draft” do and select Myles Garrett No. 1. Or will Cleveland continue on an unconventional path and ensure they get the quarterback they want with the first overall pick.
Here’s the latest from the experts, who give their final predictions on how the draft will play out tonight from Philadelphia.
Related Story: Browns Draft Rumors: Interest In Moving Up To No. 5
Albert Breer, The MMQB: Breer’s scenario has the Browns taking Garrett, and then being aggressive with the 12th pick, with Trubisky as the target.
Peter King, The MMQB: King agrees with his colleague, Breer, and says it will take 12, 33 and 181 to move up from 12 to 5.
Mike Mayock, NFL Network: Garrett goes first, but the Browns make a trade with the Titans, and move up to the fifth spot to draft Trubisky.
Dane Brugler, CBS Sports: Brugler sees the first round unfolding the same way as Mayock: Garrett, and then a trade up to five for Trubisky.
Steve Palazzolo, PFF: The analytics site is always one worth paying attention to because the Browns are so enamored with building their team through analytics.
Palazzolo has Garrett going first, and Texas Tech’s Patrick Mahomes being picked 12th. Those who favor Mitch Trubisky? Palazzolo believes he’ll be selected by the Jets with the sixth pick.
Will Brinson, CBS Sports: Brinson said it’s impossible to project anyone at No. 1, other than Garrett.
As for No. 12? Trade Time.
"The Browns have to give the Titans back the No. 52 overall pick and a later selection (No. 108?) in order to get up and grab Trubisky, but they come away with a pretty impressive haul from the first round."
If that’s all that’s required to move, I’d make that trade every day. I worry the Titans may be asking for more, since they know they’ll be delivering Cleveland its long sought-after quarterback.
Dieter Kurtenbach Fox Sports: Myles Garrett and then, in a surprise, Jamal Adams with the 12th pick. Not one of the experts on this list has Adams escaping the top 10.
As for the quarterbacks? Mitch Trubisky goes fourth to the Jags, Deshaun Watson sixth to the Jets, and Patrick Mahomes 13th to the Cardinals.
Tony Grossi, ESPN Cleveland: Grossi stays true to the No. 1 pick in each of his nine mock drafts by finishing with Myles Garrett as the first overall selection. At 12, he predicts Mitch Trubisky will fall to the Browns as the second quarterback off the board.
Grossi believes the Jacksonville Jaguars will select the first quarterback, Deshaun Watson, with the fourth overall pick.
Grossi doesn’t account for trades, but he does write of a potential shocker should the Browns shock the world by choosing Trubisky first.
"But the slim possibility exists of the Browns stunning the NFL and taking 13-game college starter Trubisky at No. 1 to simply guarantee they get their man. If that would occur, I would expect the trade from No. 12 to No. 5 to go through and the Browns to wind up with either Jonathan Allen or Solomon Thomas as their consolation pick for bypassing Garrett at No. 1."
This move would be fitting of an unconventional front office.
Chris Fedor, Cleveland.com: Myles Garrett goes first, and then it’s Trubisky with the fifth pick. Of course, a trade is involved, and again, the experts targeted the Titans as the likely trade partner.
Scott Petrak, The Chronicle-Telegram: Garrett and then a trade with the Titans, which would net Trubisky. Petrak believes the price to move up from 12 to 5 would cost picks 12 and 52 and a third-rounder next year to get their quarterback.
Jeff Schudel, The Morning Journal: Garrett and then a trade with the Titans to take Trubisky at No. 5. Schudel believes it will cost the Browns a little more than others have written about to move up from 12, though. The long-time scribe believes moving up seven spots will cost 12, 33 and 145. That 33rd pick will be one to watch.
Next: Factory of Sadness Staff Bold Predictions
The NFL Draft begins at 8 p.m.