Cleveland Browns news (4/4): Draft month is finally here!

COLLEGE STATION, TX - DECEMBER 20: Wide receiver KC Concepcion #7 of the Texas A&M Aggies on the field before the CFP First Round game between Miami Hurricanes and Texas A&M Aggies on December 20, 2025, at Kyle Field in College Station, TX. (Photo by David Buono/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Hello Cleveland Browns fans, and welcome to April! 

The NFL is now less than three weeks away from the 2026 NFL Draft, where general manager Andrew Berry will try to extend his streak of solid drafts to two in a row. Wouldn’t that be something?

It is going to be a busy few weeks as the Browns wrap up visits with prospective picks, set their draft board, and try to figure out which is the bigger gamble – going into the 2026 season with a quarterback room of Deshaun Watson, Shedeur Sanders, and Dillon Gabriel, or selecting from a group of quarterbacks with question marks in the draft.

All that will be sorted out in due course. For now, let’s get the weekend rolling with the latest edition of the Saturday Dawg Chow.

Dawgs By Nature

• NFL Draft Profile: QB Cole Payton, North Dakota State (Thomas Moore) – Can the Browns afford to “miss out” on the latest QB from North Dakota State?
• NFL draft expert predicts 3 early surprise possibilities in deep 2026 class (Jared Mueller) – The Cleveland Browns have a lot of needs in the 2026 NFL Draft. Doug Farrar notes 3 potential surprises early in the draft.
• NFL Draft Profile: C Matt Gulbin, Michigan State (Matthew Wilson) – Michigan State C Matt Gulbin is a perfect fit for Todd Monken’s offense.
• No NFL referees for Browns’ games? It just might be right around the corner (Barry Shuck) – Quick, search “replacement refs 2012” and get ready to be mad and laugh. We could see them again in 2026.
• NFL Draft Profile: RB Jeremiyah Love, Notre Dame (Thomas Moore) – There is no denying that Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love has talent. But is he a luxury the Browns can’t afford right now?
• NFL Draft Profile: C Jake Slaughter, Florida (Matthew Wilson) – Florida C Jake Slaughter could be the missing link on Cleveland’s offensive line.
• Browns: JOK’s journey to continue in a new space this fall (Thomas Moore) – Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah to begin pursuing his master’s degree at Harvard in the fall.
• National 2-round Browns mock draft has new trade down, new QB option (Jared Mueller) – Every Cleveland Browns mock draft is different. This one has a trade down, Garrett Nussmeier, and more!
• Browns mock draft: Skipping OT, QB early leads to interesting 2026 haul (Jared Mueller) – What if Dawand Jones is the starting LT? A Cleveland Browns mock draft with no QB or OT in the first 2 rounds.

Cleveland Browns

• The Browns’ quarterback competition is one of convenience, not conviction (cleveland.com) – The Browns spent three days at the NFL Annual Meeting selling a quarterback competition born more out of necessity than an actual plan.
• Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah pursues master’s degree at Harvard with Browns’ support as football future remains unclear (clevelandbrowns.com) – When Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah was traveling in New York in March, he logged in to an application portal to check on his status. That’s when he saw the word “Congratulations!”
• Cleveland Browns’ QB battle is just the start as massive NFL Draft decisions loom (The Athletic) – The NFL owners’ meetings are over. The Cleveland Browns are set to open their formal offseason program next week while high-level meetings continue as the folks in charge finalize evaluations and begin to look closely at plans to address needs in the NFL Draft, which begins April 23.

NFL

• Caleb Downs and the NFL draft: How high is too high to take a safety? (ESPN) – NFL personnel from teams holding early 2026 draft picks crowded the sideline inside the Woody Hayes Athletic Center during Ohio State’s pro day on March 25, watching Caleb Downs move from drill to drill. After the workout, with his arm around Buckeyes defensive coordinator and former NFL coach Matt Patricia, Downs addressed the same question those general managers have been contemplating: Is it worth taking a safety in the top 10?
• Bengals continue to bolster defense, sign safety Kyle Dugger (wcpo.com) – The Bengals have signed free agent safety Kyle Dugger to a one-year contract.
• Lamar Jackson ‘definitely’ wants three-time Pro Bowler Jadeveon Clowney back with Ravens (NFL.com) – More than a decade ago, Jadeveon Clowney was the No. 1 overall pick, taken atop the 2014 NFL Draft by the Houston Texans. Among his half-dozen stops since leaving Houston in 2018 was with the Baltimore Ravens.