Cleveland Browns NFL Draft Live Blog – Rumors, Picks, and More

Apr 22, 2026; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; A general overall view of the 2026 NFL Draft theater stage at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The 2026 NFL Draft officially begins for the Cleveland Browns and the rest of the teams in the NFL tonight at 8:00 pm ET. For Browns fans, Cleveland could be on the clock somewhere between 8:40 pm ET to 9:00 pm ET, as they hold the No. 6 overall pick. Later in the evening, closer to 11:00 pm ET, they are scheduled to be on the clock to make the No. 24 overall pick. It feels good to be heavily involved in the first round of an NFL Draft again, doesn't it?

We will have all of your Browns-related coverage on the draft here at Dawgs By Nature throughout the weekend. This thread will act as a live blog," with updates about the latest small rumors, picks, or trades involving Cleveland or other NFL teams. You should also use the comments section as your NFL Draft open thread! (Newest updates will be at the top of the live blog below)

Browns NFL Draft Live Blog

3:50 PM: Maybe the Chiefs won't get a chance to trade up for Reese... A small slide coming?

The latest I'm hearing on @AZCardinals and Jeremiyah Love: It's a GM who might be acting out of self preservation. An owner who wants to sell tickets. And a new, offensive minded head coach. Barring a trade down, Love is a strong possibility.

- Vincent Bonsignore (@VinnyBonsignore) April 23, 2026

3:47 PM: The Jacksonville Jaguars might be looking to move up, but it does not include any players on their roster, like Brian Thomas Jr. it seems:

I'm told that while the Jaguars are exploring options to trade into the first round, they do not involve using any of their current players as capital @TheAthleticNFL

- Michael Silver (@MikeSilver) April 23, 2026

3:34 PM: If Bailey really is the pick at #2 (see below), the Kansas City Chiefs could be looking to move up for Reese:

"Arvell Reese to the Kansas City Chiefs in a trade up at pick #3 has some real legs."@AlbertBreer on a potential trade with the Arizona Cardinals. pic.twitter.com/8xwooihAtL

- PHNX Cardinals (@PHNX_Cardinals) April 23, 2026

3:30 PM: Rueben Bain may also be falling out of the Top 10, based on afternoon noise.

1:46 PM: Mary Kay Cabot thinks Cleveland will be staying put:

"I think the chances are pretty good they stay there. You have to make sure you have the right deal to move down... They will get calls, they will have interest in the pick, it just matters if the deal is good enough or not to make it."

@MaryKayCabot on the Browns chances of... pic.twitter.com/RvCqIjHXcV

- 92.3 The Fan (@923TheFan) April 23, 2026

12:58 PM: I've had a couple of people mention that Jordyn Tyson is likely the first WR off the board, which could lead to Tate slipping... potentially out of the Top 10 if Washington passes.

12:45 PM: Nothing totally new here besides maybe there is something big," which Jay Glazer hinted at last night as well:

Some draft notes, per sources:

The high trade-up team many are eyeing is the Saints at No. 8.

The Browns have been open to moving down from No. 6. Everyone knows the Cardinals would love to get out of No. 3.

There seem to be several teams in the teens and 20s looking... pic.twitter.com/FbYzkopgj5

- Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) April 23, 2026

12:40 PM: Looks like DE David Bailey is going to the Jets, at least that is how everyone is interpreting this tweet, an Arvell Reese slide could be great for Cleveland in a few ways:

See you soon, @baileyy_david23 pic.twitter.com/fX59Hg8WJb

- Texas Tech Football (@TexasTechFB) April 23, 2026

9:47 AM: Cleveland is one of a few teams to have done homework on QB Ty Simpson:

Some teams are skeptical about Simpson going Round 1, but that's not based on ability. It's that they feel Arizona might be able to sit tight at No. 34 and not get jumped.

But that's hardly a guarantee. A ton of teams have done homework on Simpson, from MIA to CLE to PIT to... https://t.co/aqbzvgsEAZ

- Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) April 23, 2026

9:44 AM: Browns fans hoping that a top offensive tackle will be available at #24 could be disappointed:

Think there's going to be a run at offensive linemen and some trade attempts will likely be to try to grab one before the top 7 or 8 or so are off board probably by early 20s. @NFLonFOX@FoxSportsRadio

- Jay Glazer (@JayGlazer) April 23, 2026

9:42 AM: Here is a fun little nugget: NFL prospects who are in the green room will sign the helmet of the team that selected them on a wall art installation:

Pittsburgh artist @burtonmorrisart created an art installation inside the green room. Prospects will sign their @NFL team's helmet after they are drafted. @triblivepic.twitter.com/YIFxZ0zwCX

- Megan Trotter (@meganktrotter) April 22, 2026

9:34 AM: How accurate is the DBN Big Board for the Browns compared to a national big board like Pro Football Focus put together? We did a comparison below - in the left two columns are the Top 50 rankings on PFF. The two columns on the right show what number that player appeared at on the Browns' big board, as well as the difference in ranking.

For example, the -3 in the difference column for LB Sonny Styles represents that Browns fans ranked Styles three spots lower than PFF did (PFF ranked him 4th, while Browns fans ranked him 7th).

PFF Rank	Player Name	DBN Rank	Difference
1	QB Fernando Mendoza	2	-1
2	LB Arvell Reese	4	-2
3	RB Jeremiyah Love	10	-7
4	LB Sonny Styles	7	-3
5	EDGE Rueben Bain	14	-9
6	EDGE David Bailey	8	-2
7	OT Francis Mauigoa	6	1
8	S Caleb Downs	3	5
9	CB Mansoor Delane	17	-8
10	WR Carnell Tate	1	9
11	S Dillon Thieneman	22	-11
12	OT Spencer Fano	9	3
13	OT Monroe Freeling	5	8
14	TE Kenyon Sadiq	19	-5
15	WR Makai Lemon	12	3
16	OG Vega Ioane	16	0
17	CB Jermod McCoy	30	-13
18	LB C.J. Allen	42	-24
19	WR Jordyn Tyson	11	8
20	EDGE Akheem Mesidor	26	-6
21	S Emmanuel McNeil-Warren	21	0
22	EDGE Keldric Faulk	35	-13
23	CB Avieon Terrell	31	-8
24	WR Omar Cooper	20	4
25	OT Blake Miller	24	1
26	EDGE Cashius Howell	49	-23
27	OT Kadyn Proctor	15	12
28	DT Kayden McDonald	32	-4
29	EDGE T.J. Parker	N/A	N/A
30	OT Max Iheanachor	25	5
31	WR Denzel Boston	18	13
32	DT Caleb Banks	46	-14
33	DT Peter Woods	45	-12
34	CB Colton Hood	33	1
35	WR KC Concepcion	23	12
36	OG Emmanuel Pregnon	N/A	N/A
37	DT Christian Miller	N/A	N/A
38	OT Caleb Lomu	13	25
39	DT Lee Hunter	N/A	N/A
40	EDGE Zion Young	40	0
41	CB Brandon Cisse	36	5
42	QB Ty Simpson	37	5
43	CB D'Angelo Ponds	29	14
44	WR Chris Bell	27	17
45	LB Jacob Rodriguez	34	11
46	CB Chris Johnson	39	7
47	EDGE R Mason Thomas	N/A	N/A
48	OG Chase Bisontis	28	20
49	WR Germie Bernard	38	11
50	CB Keith Abney II	N/A	N/A

7:55 AM: You can see the final Top 50 of our Browns Big Board below, as voted on by the DBN Community. Some fans were shaking their head that WR Carnell Tate was No. 1 over QB Fernando Mendoza, since the exercise is intended to represent who Cleveland should take if everyone was available (and not just writing Mendoza off because you know the Raiders will take him). It is what it is, though - and if you look past that, the rest of the big board (with a little early Ohio State bias clearly mixed in) represents what Browns fans are thinking heading into the draft.

We'll be referencing this big board on Day 1 and the early part of Day 2 of the draft.

7:00 AM: Good morning, Browns fans, and welcome to our annual NFL Draft live blog! Each year, I like to begin the live blog by taking a look at how the host city has set-up for the draft, including the draft stage. Let's see how the layout looks for Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania:

A couple of notes about this year's site:

• Pittsburgh has split their draft festivities among two locations: the North Shore area (where the Steelers play) and Point State Park across the river. Fans will have to enter threw security at each location. To get from one part to the other, they'll have to walk to the Roberto Clemente Bridge, passing by PNC Park. On Friday and Saturday, a ferry will be available to transport fans across the river.
• The city is projecting 500,000 to 700,000 fans over the three-day span, potentially making it one of the busiest events in Pittsburgh's history. The school system has gne to remove learning from Wednesday through Friday to prepare for traffic.

Here is a shot of some giant Super Bowl trophies located in the green room:

See the giant Super Bowl Trophies inside the Green room? Yes, the green room is inside the Great Hall at Acrisure Stadium. pic.twitter.com/2dkB1c7EmJ

- Andrew Stockey (@astockeyWTAE) April 22, 2026

Here are a few more scenes and decorations throughout the area:

Scenes from the big stage pic.twitter.com/ypPtwT9X5W

- Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) April 21, 2026

The Wyndham Grand will also have a light projection on it during the evening of the NFL Draft, showing teams that are on the clock, as well as prospects who are being selected. Here's a shot of how it looks at night:

How cool is this?! The Wyndham in downtown #Pittsburgh is lit up with graphics for the Draft, and it looks SO much better than what I had in my head! After the event tonight I ran up to Mt. Washington and the West End to capture it, and these are some of my favorites. pic.twitter.com/SgvOf1OxsH

- Dave DiCello (@DaveDiCello) April 23, 2026

Crews have also been getting the city clean and ready for its national audience, painting over graffiti and doing other repairs:

This is awesome: The Pittsburgh government is cleaning up the streets for the NFL draft this week.

Crews are painting over graffiti, making electrical repairs to the enhanced lighting system and picking up litter.

Allegheny County is doing it right pic.twitter.com/Ku2H5pDSRJ

- Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) April 22, 2026

We'll try to have more NFL Draft Fan Experience notes during the afternoon on Thursday, when fans actually attend the festivities. That should include me (Chris Pokorny), as I will be trying to make the drive to Pittsburgh to soak in some of the fan experience.