To the victors go the spoils. To the vanquished go the mock drafts.
To the utterly vanquished and frequently mocked 3-14 Cleveland Browns goes the second pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
For a team that has gone three years without having a first-round pick in the draft, thanks to the Deshaun Watson trade, having the second pick in the first round of this one is a good place to re-start, and no NFL team could use a fresh start more than the stale, 3-14 Cleveland Browns, whose 14 losses in 2024 are the third most in franchise history.
“We will make adjustments; we will learn from this and grow from this. . . to ultimately deliver the results that our fan base deserves.”
Those words, and that vow, were made in a season-ending session with reporters on Monday by Browns executive Andrew Berry, whose title – Executive Vice President, Football Operations and General Manager – is longer than most Browns offensive possessions were this season.
And what a season it wasn’t. In their last four games of the season, the Browns lost them all and were outscored by their opponents 100-26.
“We have to look at everything,” said Berry. “An objective and hard analysis at each position group on the roster.”
They can start, as usual, by finding a quarterback worth building a team around. The Deshaun Watson project appears to have finally run its highly-expensive and controversial course.
Berry revealed on Monday that Watson “had a setback” in his recovery from the season-ending torn Achilles he suffered in an October 20th game against Cincinnati.
“We don’t have all the details, but it will extend the recovery process for him,” Berry said.
Watson’s latest setback is the latest chapter in an ongoing saga of setbacks that have prevented the $230 million quarterback from becoming anything other than a football footnote to the Browns’ last three seasons.
“We have to have consistent availability at the quarterback position,” said Berry. “That’s something that has been elusive for us the past couple of seasons. That’s something we have to fix.”
For now, Browns officials are gathering information on the condition of Watson, while, presumably, beginning their preparation and homework on the top college quarterbacks in the upcoming NFL Draft.
At the very least, Watson’s future in Cleveland seems iffy.
According to Berry, Watson remains enthusiastic about getting healthy and eventually becoming the quarterback and team leader he and the Browns envisioned when the Browns acquired him in the highly controversial trade with the Houston Texans in 2022.
“Deshaun is invested in being here,” said Berry. “At no point has he given any indication of not wanting to be here, leaving the city, or anything along those lines.”
The Browns’ decision to trade for Watson three years ago was highly controversial at the time, and has only grown more so since, due to his inability to stay on the field, and to produce to the level expected of him.
“There is a lot we need to look into and get fixed,” said Browns coach Kevin Stefanski, in speaking to the Browns’ disastrous 2024 season. “This is all about us owning it and fixing it.”
That, however, is hard to do when the player to whom the organization gave a record-setting contract has trouble staying on the field, and avoiding injuries.
Meanwhile, Browns players seem to be as baffled by the team’s disastrous three-win, 14-loss season as are those who put the team together.
“The year we went 0-16,” said Browns guard Joel Bitonio, speaking of the team’s winless 2017 season, “that was not as frustrating as this year.”
A three-win season is nobody’s idea of a good time, nor is the continued unavailability of the quarterback who was supposed to lead the way back to respectability.
All of that will be simmering in the Browns’ offices in the weeks leading up to the NFL Draft. Just because Cleveland has the second pick in the draft does not mean the Browns will make the right pick. The team had the first pick in the 2018 Draft, and the Browns used it on Baker Mayfield, who has had a solid NFL career (the best of it not with the Browns).
But six picks after the Browns took Mayfield, Buffalo selected Josh Allen. Twenty-five picks after that Baltimore took Lamar Jackson.
It is a tricky business putting together NFL teams. It’s especially so for a franchise that struggles to make good decisions.
“We trust the guys we have and trust our ability to put this thing back together,” said Berry. “We have to play better in a bunch of different areas.”
“We all own this,” said Berry. “The players, the coaches, the staff. There are things we know we can do better.”
There are thousands of Browns fans wondering when that will be.…Read more by Jim Ingraham
