NFL Draft Grades: We Gave The Cleveland Browns an 'A' — Here's Why
Thor Nystrom gave the Browns an "A" for he 2025 NFL Draft. Here's how he broke it down.
Who Did the Cleveland Browns Draft?
In the 2025 NFL Draft, the Cleveland Browns selected …
- Mason Graham | DT
- Carson Schwesinger | LB
- Quinshon Judkins | RB
- Harold Fannin Jr. | TE
- Dillon Gabriel | QB
- Dylan Sampson | RB
- Shedeur Sanders | QB
Grading the Browns NFL Draft
Cleveland Browns | Draft Grade: A
GM Andrew Berry channeled his inner Sonny Weaver Jr. during a wild 2025 draft—beginning with a shocking trade out of the Travis Hunter pick. Early on, it appeared the car could careen through the guardrails— but Berry’s vision ended up coalescing in a strong class that includes the acquisition of Jacksonville’s 2026 R1 pick.
Cleveland’s rare quarterback two-step began with the shocking decision to take Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel over Shedeur Sanders in Round 3 – only to circle back to Sanders two rounds later.
Gabriel is a pint-sized left-handed timing passer who’ll run your scheme for you. A 2024 Heisman Trophy finalist, Gabriel ranks No. 2 all-time in FBS passing yardage behind Houston’s Case Keenum. His processing, accuracy, and ability to follow a passing script and stay on time gave him the look of a long-term QB2 in the type of West Coast-type system that Cleveland runs.
Gabriel has the high floor. Sanders has the high ceiling. Sanders’ accuracy is an elite trait. He can put the ball wherever he wants it, to any sector of the field, shielding it from defenders and leading his receivers into space. Sanders maneuvers his receivers to clean catch points through placement, leading to primo YAC opportunities.
Last season, Sanders’ 81.8% adjusted accuracy percentage—five points ahead of Cam Ward’s 76.3%—ranked No. 2 among FBS quarterbacks, per PFF. Sanders was also 97th percentile in avoiding negative throws/dropback, per PFF. Last season, he ranked No. 3 in turnover-worthy play rate (1.2).
If Sanders shows up humbled, he could press for playing time immediately—he is clearly the most gifted quarterback on the roster. If he shows up defiant, his NFL career will be short-lived. The NFL seemed pretty intent to deliver that messaging.
At pick 36, the Browns kept RB Quinshon Judkins in the state of Ohio. Judkins immediately becomes the team’s bell-cow running back. Judkins runs with short, choppy steps and has a herky-jerky style, creating indecision in defenders coming downhill. Judkins can string together extremely sudden micro-cuts.
Judkins is blessed with explosive acceleration, including out of cuts, allowing him to burst through direction changes. The trait of Judkins’ that his coaches fixate on is his vision. If a cutback lane opens, he’s going to see it. He instantly reacts to defenders' movements in his peripheral vision. Over his three-year career, Judkins forced 197 missed tackles, good for 81st-percentile missed tackles forced/attempt.
I liked Cleveland’s Round 3 idea of pairing undersized Bowling Green TE Harold Fannin Jr. with David Njoku. Last season, Fannin shattered single-season FBS records for the TE position in both receptions (117) and receiving yards (1,550). He also set three different PFF-era records: yards after contact (868), missed tackles forced (32), and receiving grade (96.5).
Bowling Green pounded Fannin with targets short and intermediate to leverage his after-the-catch skills. He outruns linebackers, and safeties need help getting him to the ground. Fannin’s career 2.99 YPRR number is more than a half-yard higher than any other tight end in this class.
Quinshon Judkins Fantasy Football Value
Ian Hartitz: Quinshon Judkins profiles as the immediate 1.A option inside a Browns committee that will also include incumbent slasher Jerome Ford and fourth-round pick Dylan Sampson. Here's to hoping the Ole Miss/Ohio State product assumes more of the pre-injury Nick Chubb role (329 touches in 2022) as opposed to what we saw last season (13.4 touches per game). Ultimately, the likely lack of a high pass-game role will limit Judkins to early-down usage behind a meh offensive line inside an offense not exactly expected to light up the scoreboard. Look for Gen-Z Marion Barber to fight for every yard he can get in Cleveland, but expecting more than borderline RB2 production in fantasy land might be wishful thinking due to the lackluster offensive environment.