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Cleveland Browns NFL Draft Live Blog (Day 1) - Rumors, Picks, and More

By Chris Pokorny Updated

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[THURSDAY'S 1ST ROUND NFL DRAFT LIVE BLOG HAS A NEW THREAD]

The 2016 NFL Draft officially begins for the Cleveland Browns and the rest of the teams in the NFL tonight at 8:00 PM ET. We've been busy the past few days preparing for our draft coverage and speculating about which players the Browns might be interested in drafting. The mock drafts that are staff completed for the first round can be found here. We also did Cleveland Browns Big Boards, ranking the top 45 players we'd like to see our team draft.

We will have all of your Browns-related coverage on the draft here at Dawgs By Nature throughout the weekend. There will be individual posts about each draft pick that Cleveland makes, or any other significant news. This thread will act as a "live blog" of sorts, with short one-liners about the latest small rumors, picks, or trades involving Cleveland or other NFL teams. You should also use the comments section as your NFL Draft open thread! (Newest updates will be at the top of the live blog below)

Browns NFL Draft Live Blog

[NOTE: There is a new live blog / open thread available here for the first round]

6:44 PM: YES! The hunt is over! The Browns themselves just posted some photos of their draft table in Chicago. It's not the greatest quality, but it'll do.

The Browns are on the far left of the room with the Chargers in front of them and the Giants to their right. Not seen above is the fact that the Bears are directly behind them.

6:34 PM: The NFL PR department has posted the jerseys ready for players to come out on stage with! The Browns will go with their brown jerseys (contrast stitching) again.

6:28 PM: This isn't draft-related, but here is the latest on where SS Donte Whitner might end up:

6:20 PM: We'll be shifting over to a new thread for our live blog at 7:00 PM ET. I'll make sure I put a link here when it goes live.

6:15 PM: Here is a little nugget about WR Laquon Treadwell:

6:06 PM: If Bosa in sweatpants raised eyebrows, then imagine what this will do:

5:50 PM: This snapshot shows how little used/poorly the Browns did in last year's draft:

5:40 PM: CBS Sports' Jason La Canfora just published his only mock draft of the year, along with late rumors he's hearing about the draft. He is doing exactly what Dane Bruglar did in his mock draft earlier -- trade back from No. 8 to No. 13 with the Dolphins, where Cleveland would select WR Laquon Treadwell:

Laquon Treadwell, WR, Mississippi: This is still probably a little high, but they need a WR and are trading back with one in mind. I hear some coaches prefer Josh Doctson to Treadwell, but I'm going Treadwell. Conklin would be in contention here as well, and, frankly, I wouldn't be shocked if the Browns traded down again from this spot to get a WR a few picks later, with the Colts and Titans among those who might move up for OL.

Interestingly, La Canfora also had the Titans trading in front of the Browns to No. 12 overall so that they could select OT Jack Conklin in fear of Cleveland taking him at No. 13. He also thinks either the Browns, or a team looking to jump the Browns, could trade up to No. 28 or No. 30 overall to take a quarterback.

5:30 PM: Per Browns.com, "The Browns’ draft room is stationed at the facility in Berea and the team’s leadership group will make their moves from a familiar meeting room. A couple of team representatives will be in Chicago to relay the information and put in the proper paperwork to execute the picks. Press conferences to wrap up the day’s activities will be held in Berea."

5:25 PM: If you're near a radio or looking online, listen to 92.3 the Fan:

4:50 PM: Per Aditi Kinkhabwala of the NFL Network, Sashi Brown says, "The analytics angle with the Browns [among the media] is 'overblown.'"

4:35 PM: I'm still hunting for a photo that shows the Browns' draft table in Chicago. I found another photo below that shows some other teams:

4:30 PM: The Browns continue to be linked to WR Laquon Treadwell if they move down from No. 8. Ian Rapoport is the latest person to tweet about it:

4:00 PM: Surely this wouldn't be anything of a make-or-break thing though, right? Actually, the reason this is more relevant than you'd think is that Tom Withers works for the Associated Press. Historically, he, along with the AP sports reporters, don't just throw casual rumors out there unless they are basically confirming there is some real info there.

3:50 PM: Not much news over the past half hour, but I found this pretty hilarious:

3:17 PM: Jets QB Ryan Fitzpatrick is still playing hardball with the Jets when it comes to contract negotiations, which could factor into the team's draft plans tonight:

3:15 PM: One of our members created a "Predict the Pick" group on NFL.com, where you can predict the first round picks and compare how well you did to other Browns fans. http://predictpick.nfl.com/groups/view/1999

Group: DBN
Password: dawgs

3:00 PM: (sigh) It looks like a Browns fan got creative in Chicago with his old Johnny Manziel jersey.

2:48 PM: This is a great video that is going to air tonight during the NFL Draft.

2:30 PM: The day after the 2016 NFL Draft is over, people will have some very-early 2017 mock drafts. Well then, how about we go back and look at how some of the "very-early 2016 mock drafts" did, just one day after the 2015 NFL Draft concluded last May?

Dan Kadar of Mocking the Draft had the Browns penciled in with QB Cardale Jones at No. 5 overall. What jumps off the page is that there is no sign of QB Jared Goff or QB Carson Wentz -- it just goes to show you how much of a difference a year makes! Also, Todd McShay had the Browns going with QB Connor Cook last year at No. 2 overall. QB Christian Hackenberg was also a Top-10 pick in both mocks, including first overall in McShay's.

2:25 PM: I asked our very own Dan Kadar what his Top 5 big board for the Browns would look like, excluding the top two quarterbacks. Here's what he said:

2:10 PM: I am not a fan of what Todd McShay did at ESPN. He posted his "final mock draft" this morning, and then updated it in the afternoon with what he promises to be his "final update." He shuffled a bunch of picks around, so now he has the Browns going with DE Joey Bosa:

The Browns need a player who can come in and be a difference-maker from day one, and Bosa is that guy. His tape was consistently great throughout his final two seasons at Ohio State, and he plays with a relentlessness that can't be taught.

1:55 PM: If you are looking for a 7-round mock draft, Matt Miller over at Bleacher Report has one. Once you are on that page, you can filter by team to see just the Browns' picks.

1:40 PM: I'll be on the hunt to see if I can find the Browns' draft table on Twitter in Chicago. So far, I only see the Jaguars' table and the nearby teams, none of which are Cleveland:

1:38 PM: Some health-related news on ILB Reggie Ragland:

1:30 PM: Over at the MMQB, Peter King posted a nice "ten rumors article" this morning. He echoed the reports that some teams prefer Ronnie Stanley over Laremy Tunsil, which is why I have Tunsil falling to the Browns at No. 8. He also does not see the Browns taking QB Paxton Lynch with their first pick, although the Saints could be a sneaky pick for him.

1:25 PM: Some more mock draft fun is over at The OBR, where you can see what some of their staff members think. You can also check out Brent Sobleski's mock draft up through the Browns' 3rd-round pick.

1:20 PM: ESPN's Mel Kiper just posted his final mock draft of the year too! Unfortunately, he has the Browns going with OT Ronnie Stanley, but also notes that the pick almost seems like a placeholder for Bosa, Elliot, or a trade down:

Disclaimer: I think there's a pretty good chance we see a trade here. If Bosa was here, I could see him. If Elliott was here, same story. I'll put Stanley here, and I think he'd be a useful player for them, but I don't know if it'll stay this way.

12:55 PM: CBS Sports' Dane Bruglar posted his final mock draft of the year. As a preamble to his mock, he stated the scenario in which the Browns could trade down with the Dolphins, who'd want RB Ezekiel Elliott, projecting the compensation in that scenario to either be a 3rd-rounder this year or a 2nd-rounder in 2017. Bruglar's mock factors in the trade, so at No. 13 overall, the Browns are taking WR Laquon Treadwell.

Laquon Treadwell, WR, Ole Miss: The Browns will target several playmakers in this draft, including possibly at this pick if they trade back. Treadwell is a 4.6 athlete, but his catch radius, physicality and ballskills are why he can be a difference-maker in the NFL.

I'd be perfectly content moving down five spots to gain an extra pick if it meant we could still get Treadwell.

12:45 PM: Over at ESPN, Josina Anderson has been doing some more talking to Sashi Brown, this time about the offensive line. Brown specifically says he doesn't perceive offensive line as a pressing need, and that they like their young starters in C Cameron Erving and RT Alvin Bailey. I think that is a bit of a smokescreen, although I agree that it's not a super-pressing need for the top of the draft.

12:40 PM: What cap will the player(s) the Browns select be wearing on the stage today? For this year’s draft, New Era Cap created innovative LIQUIDCHROME logos, which are individually molded appliqués with a vibrant chrome finish and 3-dimensional texture. The pieces are applied with a unique heat transfer system resulting in a truly "threadless" logo. The undervisors feature a custom designed, screen-printed camo motif complete with the team logo on an eye-catching iridescent material.

You can purchase the hat at the NFL Pro Shop, Lids.com and NewEraCap.com.

12:18 PM: Those of you who have read my live blogs in the past know that I come prepared with snacks. Here's a sample of my after-lunch snack:

12:00 PM: Over at SB Nation, they have a great feature that looks at (in pie chart form) the most-selected player in mock drafts for teams. Here is how the Browns' chart panned out:

No. 8 Cleveland Browns

If you can't make out the percentages, here is the text version, as of this update:

  • 25.7% say RB Ezekiel Elliot
  • 14.3% say OT Ronnie Stanley
  • 14.3% say LB Myles Jack
  • 13.3% say DE DeForest Buckner
  • 10.5% say "Other"
  • 8.6% say QB Paxton Lynch
  • 7.6% say DE Joey Bosa

They also summarized the Top 100 mock drafts into one consensus mock, and that led to the Browns getting Elliot at No. 8.

11:28 AM: Which players might teams be looking to trade up for? I'd throw OT Jack Conklin into this mix too, but here is what Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports is saying:

11:18 AM: The stock of Memphis QB Paxton Lynch is all over the place right now. Some say he could go in the Top-10, while ESPN's Adam Schefter thinks he'll fall out of the first round:

Schefter also says that the quarterback getting the least amount of buzz who is likely to go higher than people expect is Mississippi State's Dak Prescott. Prescott is one of the quarterbacks the Browns are linked to in our draft tracker.

11:14 AM: During our staff mock drafts, the fans voted and decided they like Joe Ginley's mock draft the most. I asked Jared Mueller from The OBR, who has some league connections, which mock he thought was the most accurate, though, and here's what he had to say:

11:08 AM: One of the #BrownsTwitter people just discovered this little nugget that QB Connor Cook's sister tweeted out Wednesday morning:

Uh-oh. But don't panic too much if you're not a Cook fan -- they are from the area and I think Jackie is from the Medina area.

11:02 AM: This came from last week, but for those who are wondering what type of impact Paul DePodesta will have on today's process, it will be as an observer:

That doesn't mean that he's not going to be asked his opinion, it just means he's not going to take charge of the room and say, "this is the strategy we have to take, guys." He needs to understand the process and the fast-paced nature of it first so that next year, he can play a bigger role. Also, remember that according to Director of Player Personnel Andrew Berry, the setting of the draft board was a group decision and includes Sashi Brown, DePodesta, the coaching staff, and scouts.

As far as who knows what the team will actually do at No. 8 today, that's between three-four people -- I'd venture to guess Brown, Berry, DePodesta, and head coach Hue Jackson.

10:49 AM: Some more stuff from ESPN's Josina Anderson, who also talked to Sashi Brown about extensively about the prospects of the team taking DE Joey Bosa and how much of a fit he'd be.

10:42 AM: ESPN's Josina Anderson is also in Berea covering the Browns and just shared this from Sashi Brown on whether the team would try to put a package together to move up from No. 32 to select a quarterback:

Sashi Brown to me on if the #Browns will package their 32nd pick to move up for a QB similar to how the #Vikings coupled a 2nd-round & 4th-round pick in 2014 trade to move up for QB Teddy Bridgewater: "I don't think we would have to move up from 32 to get any player that we'd be interested in taking ...I don't anticipate or plan to move off 32 to go get a quarterback."

10:30 AM: Once again, the NFL Network has sent Aditi Kinkhabwala to Berea to cover the Browns during the draft. She has been dropping some nuggets on the Browns based on her conversations with Sashi Brown. As of last night, here's what Brown was saying about trading out of the No. 8 overall pick:

Brown also hinted that with how the NFL is built, there is no way that any team should be as terrible as 3-13; that would indicate a massive failure by the head coach or the front office:

Lastly, Brown said that the tradedown from No. 2 is not about settling for a consolation prize after missing out on QB Jared Goff, but adding more assets to the whole:

10:22 AM: SB Nation's Dan Kadar, ESPN's Todd McShay, and the NFL Network's Mike Mayock have been some of the best mock drafters in the business. Here is who each of them have the Browns taking this morning:

Dan Kadar: WR Laquon Treadwell (No. 8) - "Figuring out what the Browns would do was the single most difficult part of putting this mock draft together. If the Browns stick at No. 8, Ohio State running back Ezekiel Elliott will get a long look. If any of the seven players above are available, they'd be considered. So, would Memphis quarterback Paxton Lynch. With all those options, I think the Browns will ultimately trade down. If they do and don't want a right tackle, a wide receiver like Laquon Treadwell could be targeted. He's a sure-handed receiver with size, something the Browns don't currently have on the roster."

Todd McShay: WR Josh Doctson - "I've been hearing the Browns are interested in trading back again, and while I can't officially project that here, this pick is based on them making a deal with Miami, who's currently picking at No. 13. Cleveland lacks anything close to a No. 1 WR, and Doctson would help fix that with his terrific ball skills."

Mike Mayock: DE Joey Bosa - "Bosa will be an immediate impact player. The Browns would be ecstatic to get Bosa, who many think is the most impactful defensive end in this draft. "

10:05 AM: This morning, we published a massively long DBN roundtable in which our staff covered a ton of draft topics. Feel free to kill about 20 minutes of time reading it and then return to the live blog here, where we'll be pumping out the latest updates on national mock drafts or other rumors.

10:00 AM: Let's start off with some quick primer news for tonight. The first round of the draft takes place THURSDAY, APRIL 28TH at 8:00 PM ET. The Browns have 1 pick -- No. 8 overall. Cleveland will surely be in the rumor mill all day long when it comes to trades, which would presumably involve them either moving down from No. 8 overall or moving up from No. 32 overall.

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