The Cleveland Browns began the NFL Draft drama by trading out of the No. 2 pick Thursday night and acquiring a 2026 first-rounder from Jacksonville, as well as No. 36 in this year’s second round, as part of a package that pushed them down to No. 5, where they selected Michigan defensive tackle Mason Graham.

Here are five thoughts on the night, the Browns’ big move for the future and why Graham was coveted inside the team’s facility.

The trade

The trade is the story of the night. After three years out of the first round due to the failed Deshaun Watson experiment, the Browns need young talent across the roster — regardless of position — and were probably wise to look toward the future.

If you think the Browns were foolish to pass on the chance to take a blue-chip edge rusher like Abdul Carter or a unique, high-ceiling player like Travis Hunter, well, time will tell. Replenishing both lines had to be a priority for general manager Andrew Berry, and Graham should be an immediate contributor and a nice long-term complement to the newly extended Myles Garrett.

Getting the 2026 first-rounder was mandatory for Cleveland to agree to the deal, which Berry said was discussed over the last couple of weeks but not finalized until the Browns went on the clock. They evaluated and publicly talked up Hunter but were willing to let the Jaguars get him.

I think a subtle acknowledgment that the Browns are a two-draft fix and need 2025 to figure things out was as necessary as getting the extra first-rounder. For Berry and all involved, the need to keep acquiring talent and moving forward does not end with one selection.

About Graham

He’s not flashy or a genetic wonder, but Graham is a rugged, disruptive defensive lineman who figures to be at worst a solid player for multiple seasons.

“He is a DNA match for our defense,” Berry said.

Graham was one of the best players on Michigan’s 2023 national title team, and on a much worse team last season, he kept showing up in backfields. Graham visited the Browns in early April and said he came away believing he was a fit for how coordinator Jim Schwartz coaches defense and deploys his linemen.

An accomplished high school wrestler, Graham’s quick hands and ability to use proper leverage show up on his highlight reel. The Browns are wrestling with their current place in the NFL hierarchy, but the defense has some good pieces — and just added another one.

“In our (defensive) front, you have to have a little bit of an edge,” Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said. “Mason has a big edge.”

Dawg mentality 🐾🦴 pic.twitter.com/qdVi4WPOje

— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) April 25, 2025

What about this offense?

What the Browns did is add an immediate starter and premium picks for this draft and next year’s. What they didn’t do is take a quarterback, trade back into the first round or address the offense on the draft’s first night.

The offense stinks and was last in the league in scoring in 2024. The quarterback position remains unsettled. The skill positions all need help, and specifically need young playmakers.

But the Browns passed on the chance to take Hunter, who would have been primarily a wide receiver in Cleveland. In selecting Graham, Cleveland then passed on the chance to make another trade, take running back Ashton Jeanty or even add a young offensive tackle. Offensive help is certainly coming later in the draft, but it didn’t come on Day 1.

Hunter has superstar qualities, but I wasn’t sure the Browns were in position to use the No. 2 pick on a receiver or to develop a proper plan to bring along a gifted player who wanted to play both sides of the ball.

If Berry had gone with Hunter’s upside or with the thought that Carter would have juiced up the edge rush group, the Browns still would have been looking to the future, and no real answers would have been provided a few picks into the draft. Early draft grades are meaningless, and the Browns still have to find a quarterback and cash in on that extra first-rounder, regardless of whether those two end up being tied together.

One night in, I think they’re well-suited to make more important additions and to think Graham will become a cornerstone player. We’re not hanging banners, but we’re giving Berry and his team high marks for seeing the big picture. Now, Berry just has to draft a whole lot better than he has in recent years.

Moving forward

Jacksonville cleaned house following the season and thinks it’s going to be much better in 2025. New general manager James Gladstone might have wanted to make a splash — or maybe just really coveted Hunter.

Berry was willing to listen as long as Gladstone was offering that 2026 first-round pick.

“That (pick) was a huge part,” Berry said. “(Trade conversations) would have been a non-starter for anyone without getting a future No. 1 pick to move back because these picks, these resources are so valuable.”

If only someone had stopped the Browns from giving up three of them and a fully guaranteed $230 million three years ago for Watson, things would be different. Going big picture, we’ll see if the Browns can recover from this and put out a much better product in all phases than they did last season. But the start of this year’s draft gives off the impression that Berry and his group think they can clean up what’s still quite a mess.

What’s ahead

At Nos. 33 and 36, the Browns have two of the first four picks Friday night. They saw offensive tackles Josh Conerly Jr. and Josh Simmons go late in the first round, and though it’s fair to assume at least one of those players would have been high on the Browns’ Day 2 target list, they didn’t trade back into the first round.

The New York Giants did, trading out of pick No. 34 to select quarterback Jaxson Dart at No. 25. The Browns are next in the quarterback derby but likely can wait until No. 36 — or even later. The Pittsburgh Steelers don’t currently have a second-round pick, and the New Orleans Saints are at No. 40.

If the Browns truly considered Shedeur Sanders at any point, now they can go get him. If they’ve always liked Jalen Milroe, they can get him. They could trade No. 33 to add more picks, either this year or next. Eventually, they need some players who can score touchdowns. They probably need a player good enough to be their starting running back soon, and certainly need pass catchers, regardless of body type.

The quarterback question lingers, and it will continue to. On the first night of the 2025 draft, we got at least a sign that the Browns might be willing to wait on a quarterback until 2026 as part of an admission that Berry’s trying to rescue a long-term project, not paste together a quick fix.

(Photo of Andrew Berry: Jeff Lange / USA Today via Imagn Images)