The Cleveland Browns entered the 2026 NFL offseason in a shambles offensively. The team was rated the worst offensive unit in the league by Pro Football Focus for the second straight year, and was actually worse in 2025 than they’d been in 2024. In fact, the Browns had the worst offense in PFF’s rankings since PFF began doing rankings two decades ago.
The entire offensive line was heading into free agency. The wide receiver room is the worst in the NFL. There’s no clear-cut quarterback, with Shedeur Sanders having gotten the final seven starts of the season and a looking like a possibility to return to the job next year, in competition with Deshaun Watson, who is coming off two Achilles tendon surgeries.
Even with the hiring of former Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken as the head coach, this is a far cry from a juggernaut offense. It’s a far cry from a league-average offense. The Browns need a wave of players, and that could make things interesting with the No. 6 pick in the draft.
NFL Draft Trade on the Table for Browns
Currently, the Browns have No. 6 and No. 24, having gotten the Jaguars‘ pick this year in a trade-down from No. 2 to No. 5 last year. GM Andrew Berry, who met with reporters on Sunday ahead of the league’s owners meetings, said he is open to making a move on the No. 6 pick, with the possibility of trading down for more assets to address the many holes on the roster.
“I think it really just depends on the prospects that are available,” Berry said. “Look, this is what I would say. I don’t know that, but I would tell you guys, I don’t know that we are going to be picking six at the end of April, and if we are picking six, I have no idea what we’re going to take at this point.
“And so we try and remain flexible as we go into draft weekend, and we want to use the asset in the best way possible, whether that’s sitting and picking, trading up, trading down, trading it for a veteran player. I know I said this last year and people thought it was just GM talk, but it really is the truth.”
2025 Trade Worked Out Well
The trade down worked well for the Browns last year. Jacksonville had targeted Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter of Colorado as the player they wanted, and Hunter struggled to find a role before he suffered a season-ending knee injury after seven games.
The Browns, meanwhile, got Mason Graham with the No. 5 pick, and also got the Jaguars’ second-round pick, which was used on budding star running back Quinshon Judkins.
Berry pointed out that with No. 24 still on the board, the deal was very beneficial. It’s likely it would embolden him to trade back again if the option arises.
“Yeah, I think it’s something that made sense for both organizations at the time,” Berry said. “I think for us, the ability to realistically draft Mason (Graham), Draft Q (Judkins) and then obviously be sitting here with Pick 24, it made sense for where we are in our team’s life cycle. And it’s a way, maybe a little bit to Tony’s question earlier that you’re able to manufacture assets or resources without necessarily trading away a venture player.
“So it was an opportunity that came about and we were fortunate for what we were trying to achieve. And we do think that it puts us in a good position with what we’ve also added already.”