We haven’t paid any attention, really, in this space, to the NFL Draft, which will begin Thursday night in Pittsburgh with the first round.

There are two reasons for that. First of all, we were doing a series on the Kardiac Kids that we hope you found interesting and entertaining. It extended quite a long time, a little over a month. Then there is the fact that there is really not any definitive news concerning the Browns and what they intend to do in the draft. It’s hard to make any predictions when the news line is virtually nonexistent. it is made even more difficult because the Browns have so many needs.
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But when it comes to the Browns and the draft, there are some things that you can be on.

First of all, and this is a proclamation that we could’ve made months ago, the Browns will most certainly trade down out of their No. 6 overall pick. General Manager Andrew Berry always likes to trade down, and that is certainly what they will do here. There is no question about it. You do so to pick up more selections.

That’s all well and good, because the more pick means the more influx of good, young talent onto the team. But at the same time, the Browns are choosing at No. 6 because they had a horrible season in 2025. They need primetime players, not just good players, but difference-makers. If I were running that draft for them, it would take me about three seconds to take the card up to the podium when No. 6 came around. It would say: “Caleb Downs, safety, Ohio State. That is, of course, if he’s available. 

That guy is a difference-maker, the likes of which the Buckeyes have possibly never seen at that position. He is just . . . well, different. The team that gets him will have not just a great player, but also a leader in the locker room. And smart? Oh, that may be his best trait. He just sees things that other people don’t.

When it cones to the No. 24 pick, which the Browns also have  in the first round, it’s hard to say what they would do. By that point in the draft, it is scrambled enough that there are some things that have happened to change the way you look at it. So, we’ll just have to wait and see.

But the fact of the matter is that no matter what the Browns do, whether they trade up, trade down or don’t trade at all, whether they do this, that or the other, Berry has to hit a home run. He hit a home run last year, and that was good. But where was he in the previous years, when his picks were less-than-scintillating, to say the least. It wasn’t just the Deshaun Watson trade, that which depleted the top end of the Browns drafts for three straight years. And that is a situation he created when he decided to make the deal, and no matter what you may think or you may heard, he definitely made the deal. It was him. Blame him for that.

if he hits a home run again, then that’s great, obviously. I would love it, and you would love it as well. But if he doesn’t, then that is not good for his job stability, in my opinion. You can’t just hit a home run every once in a while and then nothing in between. You have to at least get a double or triple. You can’t be swinging and missing like Berry did too many times before.

In any event, the draft is a fun thing to watch. It is great theater, no matter who you root for, or if you don’t vote for any team at all. Pro football is the only sport where there is a sport within a sport, and that is the draft.

Enjoy tonight, for it will play a major role where the Browns go from here.

Steve King