So what now for the Browns?

That is, what do they do with their new first-round pick, at No. 8 overall, in the NFL Draft next Thursday night?

That’s a good question, one that Browns Vice President of Football Operations Sashi Brown will be asked repeatedly when he holds his rescheduled pre-draft press conference this morning at 10. It was originally slated for Friday.

After talking quarterback, quarterback and more quarterback when they had the No. 2 overall choice, Wednesday’s trade with the Philadelphia Eagles forces the Browns to talk anything but quarterback as they sit six spots back. The Browns definitely won’t take a quarterback at No. 8. It would be a horrible value pick, for there are only two high-profile, top-of-the-draft quarterbacks in Cal Jared Goff and North Dakota State’s Carson Wentz, and by the time it gets to the Browns’ turn, they will be long gone.

So, with all that having been said, then, we once again ask: What now for the Browns?

The guess here is that that the Browns will take either a familiar face, Ohio State running back Ezekiel Elliott, or, more probably, one of a slew of defensive players, most of whom are expected to be available. The list includes UCLA linebacker Jack Myles, Oregon defensive end DeForest Buckner, Florida cornerback Vernon Hargreaves III, Ohio State defensive end Joey Bosa, Georgia outside linebacker Leonard Floyd, Houston cornerback William Jackson III, Clemson defensive end Shaq Lawson and Louisville defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins.

Yes, the Browns need offense – lots and lots and lots of offense – but they also need defense – lots and lots and lots of defense. They have a new defensive coordinator in Ray Horton, who, in having been with Browns in 2013 in the same capacity, isn’t really new at all. From that season, and from his time in Pittsburgh, what we know about Horton is this: His defense is built, more than anything, on getting to the quarterback. It’s possible the Browns may take a cornerback, another of the many positions where they’re weak, especially with Joe Haden’s sticky injury situation. Plus cornerback is one of the most important positions on the field on either side of the ball.

But more than that, Horton would vote for a pass rusher, because those players make cornerbacks look good by getting to the quarterback. So let’s go with a pass rusher here.

It’s not a quarterback, the most important position in team sports and a spot where the Browns have had major questions since coming back in 1999. However, with where the Browns are at now, both in terms of the draft and the personnel – or lack thereof – they have on defense, it might just be the next-best thing.

We won’t have long now – only a week, in fact — to find out for sure.