2024 NFL Draft Grades: Cleveland Browns

The 2024 NFL Draft is now in the rearview mirror, and we have compiled a consensus ranking using NFL draft grades from a variety of sites.

What draft grades have the media given to the Cleveland Browns? What are they saying about the Browns' 2024 draft haul?

NFL.com - Grade: C+

Day 1 grade: D
Day 2 grade: A-
Day 3 grade: A-

Analysis: The Browns' 2022 trade for Deshaun Watson is still very much a work in progress; the QB's performance thus far has not provided the team with much of a return on the raft of picks shipped to Houston, including first- and fourth-round picks this year. Hall and Zinter stay in Big Ten Country, with the former Buckeye looking to wreak havoc on the defensive line and Zinter likely to bounce back from injury to be a long-term starter.

Cleveland did not have many Day 3 picks because of past trades, including one this offseason for receiver Jerry Jeudy. Thrash could work himself into the role of a fourth or fifth receiver because of his speed. Nathaniel Watson's ferocious nature meets a need in the middle of the team's defense late in the draft, and Harden was one of the steals of the seventh round because of his fierceness and athleticism.

ESPN - Grade: C+

Top needs entering the draft: Running back, wide receiver, defensive tackle

I'm usually a believer in taking the best prospect available -- within reason -- at most times. Don't reach for a need. But when a team doesn't have a first-round pick, it becomes necessary to make sure it gets a guy who can plug a hole at a priority position. I say all of this because there were several really good running backs and receivers available when the Browns drafted defensive tackle Michael Hall Jr. (54). Looking at this roster, I would have gone a different direction.

Hall's tape at Ohio State was maddening at times because he didn't consistently produce. He went a little high based on my rankings. I did like the selection of guard Zak Zinter (85), who will add some youth to Cleveland's O-line. The Browns finally addressed the wide receiver position in Round 5 with Jamari Thrash (156), who had some issues with concentration drops but was productive in his lone season at Louisville. Nathaniel "Bookie" Watson (206) is a long-armed linebacker with the tenacity to make a team because of his special teams ability.

Cleveland didn't take a running back, so maybe Nick Chubb will be back healthy to start the season and things will be OK. I would have added some insurance, though, based on the depth of the class.

MORE: Cleveland Browns 2024 NFL Draft Roundup

2023 NFL Power Rankings: Cleveland Browns

Throughout the 2023 NFL season, we will compile a consensus NFL Power Rankings that averages the rankings of all 32 NFL teams.

Below you will find a Week 18 roundup for the Cleveland Browns in our consensus 2023 NFL Power Rankings.

ESPN -- Rank: 7

Biggest offseason contract to watch: LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah

The Browns recently signed safety Grant Delpit to a three-year, $36 million extension. Cleveland could lock up another one of its young core defensive players later this year. Owusu-Koramoah is having a breakout third season (98 tackles, 3.5 sacks, 2 INTs) and is a major reason the Browns have arguably the top defense in the league. The 2021 second-round pick out of Notre Dame will be extension eligible this year and figures to be the next Cleveland defender still on a rookie deal to get a big payday. -- Jake Trotter

NFL.com -- Rank: 7

In our search for teams capable of winning it all this season, the Browns make the cut -- even if some still doubt their credentials. They're not doing it in any kind of expected or predictable way, which is how it tends to go for teams that are absolutely ravaged by injury. But you had better believe I am taking seriously a team that has beaten the Ravens and 49ers -- and has seemingly upgraded at quarterback (over P.J. Walker and an injured Deshaun Watson) since those games. Joe Flacco is getting a little loosey-goosey with the interceptions, but he definitely has the playoff pedigree, big-game nerves and deep-ball arm to will this team on a postseason run. It's possible there is no group better-equipped to deal with the Ravens, because of Flacco and a dominant defense. Cleveland might be the team -- along with Buffalo -- that no one wants to face on the AFC side. You could even argue the Browns are more dangerous than Buffalo, and I might not put up much of a fight, even as banged up as Cleveland is.

Continue reading Cleveland Browns NFL Power Rankings Roundup

2023 NFL Predictions: AFC North

Before the start of the season, we will post NFL division-by-division predictions for the 2023 NFL regular season and postseason.

Instead of projecting an outright winner and loser in all 272 regular-season games, we've assigned a win probability to each team in every game and totaled them up.

The four AFC North teams are projected to win more games combined than the four teams in any other division in our full-season projections.

See where the Browns stand in our 2023 AFC North Predictions

2023 Fantasy Football Projections: Cleveland Browns

Our Fantasy Football Projections will be viewable by both position and team.

Below you will find our 2023 fantasy football projections for the Cleveland Browns.

MORE: Fantasy football projections for more NFL teams

QUARTERBACKS

Player	Att.	Comp.	Yards	TD	INT	Rush	Yards	TD	Points
Deshaun Watson	509	332.1	3766.6	25.45	12.73	89.7	439.5	4.49	297.89
Dorian Thompson-Robinson	33.9	20.7	233.9	1.15	0.97	7.4	27.8	0.19	15.94

Deshaun Watson: Appearing in only six games over the past two seasons, Watson started slowly (under 13 fantasy points in three of his first four games) but closed 2022 with two solid performances — 21.9 (weekly QB8) and 19.6 (QB6), respectively. Given his dual-threat skill set, he has upside for a quarterback being drafted as a back-end QB1.

Continue reading our 2023 Fantasy Football Projections: Cleveland Browns

Cleveland Browns: 2023 NFL Schedule

Below you will find the weekly NFL regular-season schedule for the Browns in 2023.

MORE: 2023 NFL Strength of Schedule

MORE: 2023 NFL Opponents

Week	Date	Opponent	Results
Week 1	Sun., Sep. 10	vs. Cincinnati Bengals	W 24-3
Week 2	Mon., Sep. 18	at Pittsburgh Steelers	L 26-22
Week 3	Sun., Sep. 24	vs. Tennessee Titans	W 27-3
Week 4	Sun., Oct. 1	vs. Baltimore Ravens	L 28-3
Week 5		BYE
Week 6	Sun., Oct. 15	vs. San Francisco 49ers	W 19-17
Week 7	Sun., Oct. 22	at Indianapolis Colts	W 39-38
Week 8	Sun., Oct. 29	at Seattle Seahawks	L 24-20
Week 9	Sun., Nov. 5	vs. Arizona Cardinals	W 27-0
Week 10	Sun., Nov. 12	at Baltimore Ravens	W 33-31
Week 11	Sun., Nov. 19	vs. Pittsburgh Steelers	W 13-10
Week 12	Sun., Nov. 26	at Denver Broncos	L 29-12
Week 13	Sun., Dec. 3	at Los Angeles Rams	L 36-19
Week 14	Sun., Dec. 10	vs. Jacksonville Jaguars	W 31-27
Week 15	Sun., Dec. 17	vs. Chicago Bears	W 20-17
Week 16	Sun., Dec. 24	at Houston Texans	W 36-22
Week 17	Thu., Dec. 28	vs. New York Jets	W 37-20
Week 18	Sun., Jan. 7	at Cincinnati Bengals	L 31-14

MORE: Browns historical W-L records - Browns historical head-to-head records

Get tickets: Cleveland Browns tickets - Cleveland Cavaliers tickets - Cleveland Guardians tickets

Cleveland Browns - 2024 Draft Results

The table below are all of the 2024 NFL Draft picks selected by the Cleveland Browns.

Round	Overall	Player	Position	School
2	54	Michael Hall Jr.	DT	Ohio State
3	85	Zak Zinter	G	Michigan
5	156	Jamari Thrash	WR	Louisville
6	206	Nathanial Watson	LB	Mississippi State
7	227	Myles Harden	CB	South Dakota
7	243	Jowon Briggs	DT	Cincinnati

More: 2024 NFL Draft Results - Cleveland Browns Draft History