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Apr 22, 2026; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; A general overall view of the 2026 NFL Draft theater stage at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images The 2026 NFL Draft officially begins for the Cleveland Browns and the rest of the teams in the NFL tonight at 8:00 pm ET. For Browns fans, Cleveland could be on the clock somewhere between 8:40 pm ET to 9:00 pm ET, as they hold the No. 6 overall pick. Later in the evening, closer to 11:00 pm ET, they are scheduled to be on the clock to make the No. 24 overall pick. It feels good to be heavily involved in the first round of an NFL Draft again, doesn’t it?
We will have all of your Browns-related coverage on the draft here at Dawgs By Nature throughout the weekend. This thread will act as a “live blog,” with updates 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
9:44 AM: Browns fans hoping that a top offensive tackle will be available at #24 could be disappointed:
9:42 AM: Here is a fun little nugget: NFL prospects who are in the green room will sign the helmet of the team that selected them on a wall art installation:
9:34 AM: How accurate is the DBN Big Board for the Browns compared to a national big board like Pro Football Focus put together? We did a comparison below — in the left two columns are the Top 50 rankings on PFF. The two columns on the right show what number that player appeared at on the Browns’ big board, as well as the difference in ranking.
For example, the -3 in the difference column for LB Sonny Styles represents that Browns fans ranked Styles three spots lower than PFF did (PFF ranked him 4th, while Browns fans ranked him 7th).
| 1 | QB Fernando Mendoza | 2 | -1 |
| 2 | LB Arvell Reese | 4 | -2 |
| 3 | RB Jeremiyah Love | 10 | -7 |
| 4 | LB Sonny Styles | 7 | -3 |
| 5 | EDGE Rueben Bain | 14 | -9 |
| 6 | EDGE David Bailey | 8 | -2 |
| 7 | OT Francis Mauigoa | 6 | 1 |
| 8 | S Caleb Downs | 3 | 5 |
| 9 | CB Mansoor Delane | 17 | -8 |
| 10 | WR Carnell Tate | 1 | 9 |
| 11 | S Dillon Thieneman | 22 | -11 |
| 12 | OT Spencer Fano | 9 | 3 |
| 13 | OT Monroe Freeling | 5 | 8 |
| 14 | TE Kenyon Sadiq | 19 | -5 |
| 15 | WR Makai Lemon | 12 | 3 |
| 16 | OG Vega Ioane | 16 | 0 |
| 17 | CB Jermod McCoy | 30 | -13 |
| 18 | LB C.J. Allen | 42 | -24 |
| 19 | WR Jordyn Tyson | 11 | 8 |
| 20 | EDGE Akheem Mesidor | 26 | -6 |
| 21 | S Emmanuel McNeil-Warren | 21 | 0 |
| 22 | EDGE Keldric Faulk | 35 | -13 |
| 23 | CB Avieon Terrell | 31 | -8 |
| 24 | WR Omar Cooper | 20 | 4 |
| 25 | OT Blake Miller | 24 | 1 |
| 26 | EDGE Cashius Howell | 49 | -23 |
| 27 | OT Kadyn Proctor | 15 | 12 |
| 28 | DT Kayden McDonald | 32 | -4 |
| 29 | EDGE T.J. Parker | N/A | N/A |
| 30 | OT Max Iheanachor | 25 | 5 |
| 31 | WR Denzel Boston | 18 | 13 |
| 32 | DT Caleb Banks | 46 | -14 |
| 33 | DT Peter Woods | 45 | -12 |
| 34 | CB Colton Hood | 33 | 1 |
| 35 | WR KC Concepcion | 23 | 12 |
| 36 | OG Emmanuel Pregnon | N/A | N/A |
| 37 | DT Christian Miller | N/A | N/A |
| 38 | OT Caleb Lomu | 13 | 25 |
| 39 | DT Lee Hunter | N/A | N/A |
| 40 | EDGE Zion Young | 40 | 0 |
| 41 | CB Brandon Cisse | 36 | 5 |
| 42 | QB Ty Simpson | 37 | 5 |
| 43 | CB D’Angelo Ponds | 29 | 14 |
| 44 | WR Chris Bell | 27 | 17 |
| 45 | LB Jacob Rodriguez | 34 | 11 |
| 46 | CB Chris Johnson | 39 | 7 |
| 47 | EDGE R Mason Thomas | N/A | N/A |
| 48 | OG Chase Bisontis | 28 | 20 |
| 49 | WR Germie Bernard | 38 | 11 |
| 50 | CB Keith Abney II | N/A | N/A |
7:55 AM: You can see the final Top 50 of our Browns Big Board below, as voted on by the DBN Community. Some fans were shaking their head that WR Carnell Tate was No. 1 over QB Fernando Mendoza, since the exercise is intended to represent who Cleveland should take if everyone was available (and not just writing Mendoza off because you know the Raiders will take him). It is what it is, though — and if you look past that, the rest of the big board (with a little early Ohio State bias clearly mixed in) represents what Browns fans are thinking heading into the draft.
We’ll be referencing this big board on Day 1 and the early part of Day 2 of the draft.
7:00 AM: Good morning, Browns fans, and welcome to our annual NFL Draft live blog! Each year, I like to begin the live blog by taking a look at how the host city has set-up for the draft, including the draft stage. Let’s see how the layout looks for Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania:
A couple of notes about this year’s site:
- Pittsburgh has split their draft festivities among two locations: the North Shore area (where the Steelers play) and Point State Park across the river. Fans will have to enter threw security at each location. To get from one part to the other, they’ll have to walk to the Roberto Clemente Bridge, passing by PNC Park. On Friday and Saturday, a ferry will be available to transport fans across the river.
- The city is projecting 500,000 to 700,000 fans over the three-day span, potentially making it one of the busiest events in Pittsburgh’s history. The school system has gne to remove learning from Wednesday through Friday to prepare for traffic.
Here is a shot of some giant Super Bowl trophies located in the green room:
Here are a few more scenes and decorations throughout the area:
The Wyndham Grand will also have a light projection on it during the evening of the NFL Draft, showing teams that are on the clock, as well as prospects who are being selected. Here’s a shot of how it looks at night:
Crews have also been getting the city clean and ready for its national audience, painting over graffiti and doing other repairs:
We’ll try to have more NFL Draft Fan Experience notes during the afternoon on Thursday, when fans actually attend the festivities. That should include me (Chris Pokorny), as I will be trying to make the drive to Pittsburgh to soak in some of the fan experience.
