NFL Network’s 4 round mock draft for the Cleveland Browns class of 2023 isn’t just bad, it’s bad

The NFL Network’s four-round mock draft for the Cleveland Browns is putrid.

The Cleveland Browns have a lot of holes they need to address in the 2023 NFL Draft, and neither of them involves running backs or cornerbacks. Don’t tell that to Chad Reuter of NFL.com, who decided he was going to spend two of the Browns’ most precious four picks on positions the team doesn’t need. The four picks they’re going to need to lean on for starters in 2023, I might add.

The team needs more defensive tackle, linebacker, and safety help, and another wide receiver wouldn’t hurt either. Yet, Reuter decided that with the first pick the Browns had, all the way back in the third round, the team should draft running back Zach Evans out of Mississippi.

Evans may be a good running back, but the Browns are no longer going to be a ground-and-pound type of offense, with many in the industry believing the Browns won’t even run Nick Chubb more than 15 or more times a game anymore. If that’s the case, not only do the Browns not need to draft another running back, there’s an entire scenario where Jerome Ford backups Chubb and sees limited action at best.

Adding another running back to a backfield as part of a pass-first offense doesn’t make much sense. Here are the rest of Reuter’s picks;

"74: RB Zach Evans, Mississippi98: S Jammie Robinson, Florida State111: DE Colby Wooden, Auburn126: CB Starling Thomas V, UAB"

The Cleveland Browns are not done building their line to focus on cornerbacks

Before the team even considers a cornerback, the Browns need another defensive tackle and some offensive line depth. The Browns have one recently added player who may be able to improve the team defensively, with the rest being depth pieces or young players who have yet to find the next gear.

The team may be relying too much on a guy like Perrion Winfrey for my liking, and focusing on a defensive tackle early in the draft is too sensible to not do. Moreover, any mock draft in the first four rounds needs to see an offensive lineman get selected.

The team needs depth in the position group and they really don’t at the moment. At least not as well as they’ve had in past seasons.