The Cleveland Browns have two or three big needs depending on how they sort out their roster early in the offseason. The clear belief is that the team must address their wide receiver and defensive line positions. With the team’s stated belief in Baker Mayfield having a “bounce back” year, adding playmakers around him is vital.
That is especially true with recent data that shows good passing offenses are key to making the Super Bowl.
In our Browns Mock Offseason 1.0, we addressed both positions with veterans and draft picks. Most mock drafts are one round and have Cleveland drafting a receiver in the first round. While it isn’t always the same receiver, it is almost always a receiver.
A new mock draft up on ESPN is actually a two-round version. While most are used to seeing Mel Kiper Jr. and Todd McShay for ESPN’s NFL draft coverage, they added Jordan Reid to the mix this year. Reid was hired from The Draft Network where he made his media name after a four-year career at quarterback at North Carolina Central University.
In his recent two-round mock (subscriber, $), Reid hits both of the Browns biggest need areas:
Treylon Burks, WR, Arkansas
The Browns, who rely heavily on analytics-based scouting, are in desperate need of pass catchers, and Burks could meet the criteria they use for prospects. At 6-foot-3, 225 pounds, he is expected to run a 40-yard dash in the 4.4s and wears Size 5XL gloves. Burks, who caught 66 passes for 1,104 yards in 2021, could be a versatile weapon in Kevin Stefanski’s offense, which has to get playmakers around Baker Mayfield. Expect him to be a riser in the pre-draft process.
Burks could be the first receiver off the board by the time the draft is held in Las Vegas for all the reasons Reid notes above. In his mock, Garrett Wilson is taken a few picks before Cleveland’s pick.
In the second round, Reid added edge rusher Drake Jackson out of USC for the Browns. The 6’4″ junior is athletic and could come in right away to help the team’s weak defensive line depth issue.
