ESPN analyst Jordan Reid suggest bold direction for Browns during the draft

The Cleveland Browns have a few holes to tackle in the draft.

If you were to ask any Cleveland Browns fan what position they feel the team needs to draft this year, you’d probably get three different answers depending on who you asked. A receiver, a defensive tackle, or a quarterback. The first two make sense, not so much the third.

Few, if any, would say defensive end. Yet that’s the position Jordan Reid of ESPN thinks is possible when the Browns come up to draft in April. There are a few players who may be there, like George Karlaftis.

Reid explains the reasoning why Cleveland Browns GM Andrew Berry may go that direction.

"From Reid;Finding a starting-caliber wide receiver is essential for the Browns as they try to set up Mayfield with as many weapons as possible. Building up the defensive line is another area that Berry could look to attack. In a deep edge rusher class, finding a long-term pairing opposite Myles Garrett is a possibility."

Would the Cleveland Browns draft a defensive end?

The future of Jadeveon Clowney could impact the decision to draft a defensive end here. Could, not will. The Browns may find themselves in a situation where they decide they have to go after a defensive end at No. 13, assuming someone unexpectedly falls to them the way Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah did in 2021. If that happens, the team may opt to move from Clowney.

It may also be a situation where the Browns draft a defensive end and keep Clowney to further bolster the defensive line. That doesn’t the Browns should, but the logic does make sense.

That doesn’t mean the Browns don’t need to worry about their receiving corp, drafting defensive linemen in the first round, regardless of it’s a tackle or an end, would only make sense logically if they signed a major name or traded for one. We’re talking a guy on his last legs either.

I don’t think it’s likely that the Browns get Karlaftis or someone like him, but if whoever you think is the number one receiver is off the board at No. 13, and someone like Karlaftis is there, there’s an argument to be made to pick the best player at that point.