How did the Browns fare in final NFL Draft grades?

The Cleveland Browns had a busy, and what they hope will ultimately be a productive, three days at the 2025 NFL Draft.

Related: Browns draft class earns Mel Kiper’s praise, top grade

Beginning on Thursday night with a trade down that led them to select Michigan defensive tackle Mason Graham with their first-round selection, through Saturday when they closed out the weekend by selecting Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders, the Browns added seven players to the roster.

General manager Andrew Berry focused heavily on offense—two quarterbacks, two running backs, and a tight end—but did not address wide receiver, the offensive line, or safety, which were all areas of focus leading into the draft.

But there is only so much work that can be accomplished in one weekend, so let’s look at how the national media graded Berry on this year’s draft class.

2025 NFL Draft: Cleveland Browns pick DT Mason Graham at No. 5 https://t.co/M9KTdyaMmF — Dawgs By Nature (@DawgsByNature) April 25, 2025

Mark Maske at The Washington Post: B+

The Browns finally ended Shedeur Sanders’s plummet by trading up to take him with the sixth pick of the fifth round, the 144th choice. It made for the oddity of a two-quarterback draft class, after the Browns took Dillon Gabriel late in the third round. No matter. The Sanders pick was more than worth it at that point. It’s not outlandish to think that Sanders could even be the starter, given the state of the roster. The Browns ended up making five picks in the first three rounds after trading down three spots near the top of the draft, passing up the chance to take two-position standout Travis Hunter, to select defensive tackle Mason Graham at No. 5. Graham is a great addition to the defensive front, and adding a first-round choice next year in the trade is significant. But if Hunter becomes a major NFL star, the move will represent a missed opportunity. Getting running back Quinshon Judkins in the second round was meaningful.

2025 NFL Draft: Cleveland Browns pick RB Quinshon Judkins at No. 36 https://t.co/PU9fKl0TIL — Dawgs By Nature (@DawgsByNature) April 25, 2025

Chad Reuter at NFL.com: B+

The Browns traded out of the No. 2 spot on Thursday night, passing on a chance to pick two-way star Travis Hunter. Obviously, a move of that magnitude will be analyzed for years to come and will invite a lot of second-guessing if Hunter plays to his potential. After moving down three spots, they landed a top-five talent in Graham, and I expect Schwesinger to become one of the leaders on defense over the next few seasons. Judkins will probably earn Nick Chubb comparisons as a rookie. The undersized Fannin and Gabriel will be, at the very least, solid role players for the Browns. The Sanders pick could be the best personnel move the Browns have made in years. He didn’t go until the fifth round, which was the biggest story of this year’s draft, but the decision to end his slide could pay off in a big way. Sampson has top-130 talent but it was interesting that the team drafted two running backs in the first four rounds when it had needs at offensive tackle, receiver and edge rusher.

Cleveland Browns pick LB Carson Schwesinger at No. 33 https://t.co/u4elTiXTRv — Dawgs By Nature (@DawgsByNature) April 25, 2025

Chris Trapasso at CBS Sports: B

Have we ever seen a draft strategy like this one? The Browns passed on Shedeur Sanders like 50 times, picked Dillon Gabriel to round out arguably the strangest quarterback room in modern NFL history, then decided to pick Sanders in the fifth round. It wasn’t a brutal idea — just strange. On top of that, two running backs for a clearly rebuilding club, with one early in Round 2? I did adore and highly respect general manager Andrew Berry’s decision to trade back from No. 2 overall to gain extra picks, especially that 2026 first-rounder. Fannin and Schwesinger are dynamic players who’ll rock in the middle of the field on their respective sides of the ball for a while in Cleveland.

2025 NFL Draft: Cleveland Browns pick TE Harold Fannin Jr. at No. 67 https://t.co/Mu2rMWDjvQ — Dawgs By Nature (@DawgsByNature) April 26, 2025

Pro Football Network: A-

What a rollercoaster ride this draft has been for the Cleveland Browns. General manager Andrew Berry hit big on his first two picks, significantly strengthening a defense that fell off as the season went on. Mason Graham is one of the disruptive forces in this draft class, as he has the tools to immediately impact the game as a run-stopper and get after the quarterback. The Browns got a solid haul of draft capital by trading back to grab Graham. Passing on Travis Hunter could come back to bite them, but they filled a massive need. Carson Schwesinger filled yet another need for Cleveland. He has the potential to become a high-level MIKE linebacker in the NFL and eventually take over for veteran Jordan Hicks, who will turn 33 years old before the 2025 season. This is where things get interesting. It’s well-documented that the Browns’ most glaring need was at the quarterback position. After all of the Shedeur Sanders drama, which included Cleveland drafting Dillon Gabriel ahead of him, the Colorado product ended up with the Browns after all. While it’s perplexing how they got there, Cleveland still landed a potential quarterback of the future. This team now has a whopping five quarterbacks on the roster, with Sanders and Gabriel joining Deshaun Watson, Joe Flacco, and Kenny Pickett. Sanders has the most upside of any quarterback on the roster moving forward, and if he claims the starting job at some point, he will lead a Browns offense that has a much stronger complement of weapons than it ended the 2024 season with. A backfield duo of Quinshon Judkins and Dylan Sampson can replace an injury-prone Nick Chubb. Harold Fannin Jr. joined David Njoku in the TE room and brings some pass-catching juice to take pressure off Jerry Jeudy. Sanders’ draft slide is arguably the most shocking we’ve ever seen, considering how he was viewed heading into the draft process. He could end up being the biggest steal of the draft, and his draft position makes this a low-risk, high-reward move for the Browns. All in all, Berry made moves to improve on both sides of the ball with this class.

Cleveland Browns pick QB Shedeur Sanders at No. 144 https://t.co/cGIeZksXLC — Dawgs By Nature (@DawgsByNature) April 26, 2025

Nate Tice and Charles McDonald at Yahoo! Sports: B-

An eventful weekend for the Browns. They started the draft by trading back to No. 5 overall, picking up some extra picks (including the Jaguars’ first-rounder next year) and then took Mason Graham to start off their class. Graham will thrive in Jim Schwartz’s scheme that has its linemen pin their ears back and go. Carson Schwesinger is an excellent coverage player with speed to keep up with receivers. He will benefit with the Browns’ defensive line keeping him clean in the run game. Quinshon Judkins and Dylan Sampson are running backs I like and both are effective runners between the tackles. They should help the Browns out in a post-Nick Chubb world. If we stopped right there, I would probably have the Browns graded higher. But Cleveland ended up taking two QBs in Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders. Gabriel in Round 3 was a major reach and Sanders ended up going later than expected. I thought the Browns might wait one more season and use that new first-rounder to get a QB, but they end up with an even murkier room.

Cleveland Browns pick RB Dylan Sampson at No. 126 https://t.co/ocnuGyadSv — Dawgs By Nature (@DawgsByNature) April 26, 2025

Danny Kelly at The Ringer: B

I guess we’ll start from the beginning: After trading out of the no. 2 spot with the Jaguars, the Browns grabbed a disruptive, chaos-creator for their interior defensive line in Michigan’s Mason Graham at no. 5. The former Wolverine will pair well with Myles Garrett in making life difficult for opposing quarterbacks. Cleveland then turned around on Day 2 and bolstered their linebackers group with UCLA playmaker Carson Schwesinger, giving the team another instinctive, run-and-chase tone-setter at the second level. The Browns looked to the running backs group twice this weekend, grabbing Ohio State’s Quinshon Judkins and Tennessee’s Dylan Sampson—an overhaul that gives the team a nice thunder-and-lightning element in the backfield. And I liked the selection of Bowling Green tight end Harold Fannin Jr., who brings the skill set to create mismatches. Now let’s talk about the Browns’ decision-making at the quarterback position: When Cleveland grabbed Oregon signal caller Dillon Gabriel in the third round, it seemed to close the door on any potential Shedeur Sanders connection. But then the team traded back up in the fifth round to grab Sanders, too—a peculiar choice at that point in the draft, raising questions about who was really making the decisions in the draft room. In any case, with Kenny Pickett, Joe Flacco, and an injured Deshaun Watson already on the roster, the Browns’ quarterback competition is going to be very interesting this offseason. All in all, the Browns picked up some good talent in this draft. They got better and much more competitive at the quarterback position, and they acquired an additional 2026 first-round pick from Jacksonville. That’s solid! But, for better or worse, they’ll also be remembered as the team that passed on the chance to draft a once-in-a-generation player in Travis Hunter—and it’s easy to imagine that decision aging poorly for the Browns.

Cleveland Browns pass on Shedeur Sanders, pick QB Dillon Gabriel at No. 94 https://t.co/q4RqrQUMGN — Dawgs By Nature (@DawgsByNature) April 26, 2025

TIm Bielik at cleveland.com: B+

Imagine starting the draft trading away a shot at one Colorado player and trading up to draft another to end their draft? That’s just what happened with the Browns, trading out of 2 and a shot at Travis Hunter to drop to five, get the 36th pick in this draft and a first-round pick in 2026 and take Mason Graham, who really complements Mike Hall Jr. in the middle. Then even after drafting Dillon Gabriel on Friday night in the third round, they traded up and ended the stunning freefall of Shedeur Sanders at No. 144. It’s an incredible fall and while it makes the selection of Gabriel more confusing, there is no arguing the value of Sanders, who a lot of people including myself had as the No. 2 QB in this class behind Cam Ward. I really liked getting Quinshon Judkins and Dylan Sampson to help rebuild the run game, and Carson Schwesinger and Harold Fannin Jr. should be immediate depth potential to be starters. While they needed depth at offensive tackle and another option at slot receiver, you can’t fill all the holes in one draft. The Browns clearly took two low-risk shots at quarterback and could still take one in 2026 if neither Gabriel nor Sanders show potential of being the guy.

Now that you’ve read what others think of Cleveland’s draft class, it is your turn. Let us know your grade in the poll and your thoughts in the comments.

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