This Cleveland Brown mock draft for 2023 looks great on paper

The Cleveland Browns need so much help in 2023 and lack the picks to make huge changes.

The Cleveland Browns won’t have their 2023 First Round pick for the upcoming NFL Draft. Currently, the pick is 11th and will give the Houston Texans two top-11 picks. That pick is sorely needed in Cleveland as the holes on both sides of the ball become more and more gaping as the year goes on.

The biggest emphasis of need is arguably the defensive tackle position. But you could make cases for safety, linebacker, defensive end, and receiver as well. So finding players to fill those holes is imperative for the 2023 offseason.

We’ve seen, time and time again, that outside of the first three rounds, the draft is largely just filler selection. Most guys after the third don’t turn into starters, let alone impact players. Some can, obviously, but most don’t get a second contract. Or shouldn’t.

So the Browns have only one pick in the first three rounds and they can’t miss on it. Maybe the 4th-rounders and beyond can turn into something, but you’re really just drafting cheaper backups at that point.

This mock draft, from our FanSided brother site, Dawg Pound Daily, does a decent job of addressing some big concerns. It’s not perfect, but I’m liking what I’m seeing.

From Dawg Pound Daily’s Jacob Roach;

"No. 41: Andre Carter II, EDGE, ArmyNo. 98: Marvin Mims, WR, OklahomaNo. 109: Lukas Van Ness, DL, IowaNo. 130: Nick Broeker, OT, MississippiNo. 146: Ji’Ayir Brown, S, Penn StateNo. 185: Tommy Eichenberg, LB, Ohio StateNo. 226- T.J. Bass, IOL, Oregon"

What’s good and bad about this mock draft?

I like every player at 109 or beyond. I think Lukas Van Ness has starting potential and could allow us to move on from Tommy Togiai and Jordan Elliot. He quite literally, would have to be undraftable, to not be better than them. Does that mean he’ll be great? No, but he’ll be better and that’s a start.

Nick Broeker and T.J. Bass would be project picks, and that’s fine, fifth and seventh-round picks are just that. Ji’Ayir Brown may be too far down on this mock, I think he’s better than a fifth, though not too much better.

Tommy Eichenberg could be nothing more than a special teams guy but considering we’re seeing a lot of whacky stuff from our linebacker corp this season, I wouldn’t be too surprised if he was a late-round stud waiting to bust out.

My issue comes specifically with Andre Carter II. Not for any reason that he’s done, sadly. By all accounts, Carter is a great young man. He’s a member of the Army Football Team and has played incredibly for them.

He’s a good pass rusher, but his best traits involve his ability to not only chase the quarterback but be a genuine impact against the run. Something the Browns need from the end position.

The problem is two-fold. The first being the Browns need a defensive tackle more than another end, but if he’s the best player on the board, then he’s the best player on the board. But if there’s a DT who is on his level, you don’t go with Carter.

The other is out of everyone’s hands, and it has to do with a new bill being worked on. If you go to the Army, Navy, or Air Force colleges, the bill states you won’t be able to defer your mandatory military service. Meaning that Carter would not be able to join the team until 2025 if the current version of the bill fails.

This isn’t too dissimilar to BYU, which requires all players to spend two years serving The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

The new bill, should it pass, would allow Carter to play in the NFL right away and would probably defer service to the offseason in recruiting roles, as we’ve seen in the past.