Cleveland Browns might be steering away from one big time NFL draft prospect if their latest move means anything
The Browns may already be leaning a certain way on a potential first round prospect from the Alabama Crimson Tide.
It’s going to be a busy few weeks leading up to the 2026 NFL Draft for the Cleveland Browns. They have the majority of their free agent moves out of the way, and now it’s all about finalizing draft boards.
Top 30 visits and pro days are currently taking place and that’ll play into the Browns finalizing their draft boards. Cleveland has two first-round picks this season and they badly need to hit on them to speed up the rebuild.
The team’s biggest hole continues to be a franchise quarterback and it simply won’t be fixed until they find the guy. Cleveland has Shedeur Sanders and Deshaun Watson likely to battle for the starting job, but it wouldn’t be a surprise if the team adds another arm to a room where Dillon Gabriel is currently the No. 3 quarterback
Browns fading away from Ty Simpson in the NFL draft?
Cleveland ending the season on a two-game winning streak pushed them out of contention for the top quarterback in the draft, Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza. Alabama’s Ty Simpson is the second-best quarterback in the draft and some believe the Browns could be the spot for him late in the first at No. 24 overall, since he’s not worth the value of pick No. 6.
With Simpson throwing in front of NFL decision makers and scouts on Thursday, the two most important names for the Browns were not in attendance.
Neither general manager Andrew Berry nor head coach Todd Monken was in Birmingham to watch the former Crimson Tide standout’s workout. Now, this doesn’t mean the Browns aren’t interested in him and won’t be taking him. I do believe this shows the Browns’ hand potentially around not spending a first-round pick on him.
Cleveland could still have scouts at the pro day, and they probably do. But the fact that Berry and Monken are not in attendance is very notable.
Simpson was only a one-year starter at Alabama and the lack of experience despite being 23 is a negative on his profile. In 15 games last season, Simpson threw for 3,567 passing yards, 28 touchdowns, and five interceptions. Simpson does bring some dual-threat ability, but his durability after a couple of injuries popped up in his only season as a starter is a bit worrisome.
The draft isn’t until April 23 and a lot can happen between now and then. I feel pretty comfortable in saying right now it feels like Cleveland is not interested in taking Simpson in the first round.