The NFL scouting combine will get underway on Feb. 23 in Indianapolis. The event sort of symbolizes the kick-starting of the real pre-draft process for teams, with all of the college games and all-star games completed.
The Browns go to Indiana with 10 picks currently in April’s draft and a laundry list of needs to fill. Most of those needs, at least at the top of the list, are on the offensive side of the football.
The good news is that those 10 picks allow the Browns to potentially address those needs, much as they did with several of their 2025 draft picks. The process of digging deep into those potential answers isn’t starting in Indianapolis, but it’s definitely getting ramped up.
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So who could some of those potential answers be for the Browns? Here’s a look at five names to really watch during the NFL combine:
Monroe Freeling, OT, Georgia
Freeling is a 6-foot-7, 315-pound mountain of a human being who was the Bulldogs’ left tackle for 12 of their 13 games in the 2025 season, his first full season as a starter. However, he showcased enough in that season, on top of the 21 games he had played in the previous two seasons, to get on the radars of NFL teams. Then he went out and built on it with a strong Senior Bowl week. Miami’s Francis Mauigoa and Utah’s Spencer Fano are viewed as the top two offensive tackles. Freeling, though, is rapidly soaring up the boards. This next week or so could only do more to juice that stock.
Ty Simpson, QB, Alabama
The Crimson Tide quarterback has one full season of starting in his college career, that coming in 2025. He also started one game in 2023. Simpson’s the son of a college coach, Tennessee-Martin’s long-time head coach Jason Simpson. However, Simpson’s also a quarterback who went from a spectacular October where he looked like the best quarterback potentially available in this draft to a November that had some questioning whether or not he should go back for one more collegiate season. That puts a lot of onus on Simpson, still seen as the QB2 behind Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza at this point, to assuage teams’ concerns over the number of starts.
Makai Lemon, WR, USC
The former Trojan pass catcher isn’t the biggest wide receiver in the draft at 5-foot-11, 195 pounds. Lemon isn’t the fastest wide receiver in the draft, having been previously clocked in the 40-yard dash at 4.48 seconds. However, he may be one of the best all-around wide receivers in the draft. Lemon plays bigger than his size, especially when it comes to making catches in traffic. Teams like the Browns, who have been linked to Lemon, are going to have him under and intense microscope.
Jack Endries, TE, Texas
The Browns are going to be looking for more tight end help to assist Harold Fannin Jr., and Endries is one of those who has been linked in the pre-combine mock drafts to Cleveland. Endries is very much a tight end in the mold of Fannin, checking in at 6-4, 240 pounds, much more spread out receiver than in-line blocker. Endries will have two big things to prove in Indianapolis. One his his size, when he gets officially measured by the league, while the other is his strength, assuming he chooses to do the bench press.
Drew Allar, QB, Penn State
Snicker and laugh if you must, it’s an understandable reaction to the latest Penn State quarterback who came to college with all sorts of hype — out of Medina, no less — and found himself plateauing at a certain point of his career. Then it all came to a crashing halt with a leg injury against Northwestern last fall. The combine could be a place where Allar could potentially begin the process of re-building the narrative around him. It won’t make up for the game film he put out during his time in Happy Valley. Still, could he sell himself to a team looking for a quarterback to potentially develop and, possibly, turn into a starter.
Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ