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Insider reveals quarterback the Browns wanted to draft.

The Cleveland Browns are prime candidates to make a deal on NFL draft day, and most people in and around the league expect the franchise to do just that.

Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported as much on Thursday, April 16, exactly one week before Round 1 begins.

“I think everyone thinks [Browns general manager] Andrew Berry is just gonna move,” Rapoport said. “But there are gonna be some really good players there.”

Cleveland owns the No. 6 pick, which is the asset to which Rapoport was referring. However, the Browns also hold the rights to the 24th overall selection in the opening round.

While a number of mock drafts have predicted Cleveland’s interest in a top wide receiver talent at No. 6, Rapoport said that there is a reasonable chance one wideout, or even two, is already off the board by then. Thus, Rapoport believes it will be the availability of offensive tackles, another position of great need for the Browns, that will dictate how the team operates inside the top 10.

“I think most people believe the Cleveland Browns will be looking at the offensive line,” Rapoport continued, noting four major pickups already this offseason via trade and free agency. “They still need a starting tackle. They might have their choice of all the tackles in the draft.”

Browns GM Andrew Berry Remains Open to Possibility of Trading No. 6 Pick in NFL Draft

GettyCleveland Browns general manager Andrew Berry.

Berry spoke openly at the annual league meetings earlier this month about the Browns’ openness to dealing the 6th pick.

He addressed that possibility again during his pre-draft interview this week.

“Our mindset going into the draft with our most valuable asset isn’t about, ‘Hey, just trade it away.’ It’s maximizing the asset. And that can, at different times, take different forms,” Berry said. “It can be selecting a player. … It could be trading down, it could be trading up. We will continue to work through all those possibilities up until, really, we get on the clock on Thursday night. But I’d say we’re working through a number of different scenarios at this point.”

Browns Head Coach Todd Monken Focused on Rebuilding Offense

GettyCleveland Browns head coach Todd Monken.

Cleveland has maximum flexibility because it also owns the No. 39 selection early in Round 2.

The Browns’ top needs are overwhelmingly offensive line and wide receiver, though the team has also held pre-draft meetings with tight ends, pass-rushers and Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson.

Cleveland’s defense finished No. 4 in the league last season after rating as the top unit in 2023 based on overall yardage surrendered to opposing offenses. New head coach Todd Monken, the former offensive coordinator of the Baltimore Ravens for the past three years, came in this offseason with a mandate to remake the offense.

Doing so may require a quarterback, depending on how well Shedeur Sanders performs in his second NFL season in 2026. However, the Browns aren’t going to be in a position to draft a projected franchise player at the position this year, as only Fernando Mendoza grades out as such, according to most analysts. And the Las Vegas Raiders are poised to select him No. 1.

Rather, Cleveland will likely try to round out the offensive front and all the skill positions around QB, then re-evaluate heading into the 2027 offseason and decide if it needs to draft a QB, trade for one, pursue a signal-caller in free agency or simply roll with a player like Sanders already on the roster.