The Cleveland Browns have a golden opportunity in April with their second-overall selection in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Cleveland will have its choice of game-changing playmakers to choose from, a player who could become a building block for years to come for the Browns.
Yet Cleveland has been here before, and historically the Browns’ front office personnel has struggled to identify which player would help the franchise become a perennial playoff contender.
The Browns’ low success rate of drafting top prospects has analyst Jay Crawford concerned about who the team will take with this year’s top selection.
Crawford shared a warning to the Browns GM Andrew Berry about making the right choice for his organization as he revealed the downside to making a mistake with the franchise’s first-round selection.
“It’s so punitive when we get it wrong because it’s one year after another after another after another getting it wrong. So it compounds the problem. You’re not now two years from getting it out of it. You’re more like five or six years getting out of it,” Crawford said.
Crawford acknowledged the franchise’s deal to acquire Deshaun Watson was an example of the mistakes Cleveland has made in identifying talent who could become cornerstones of the organization.
Cleveland’s poor draft performance over the past three seasons has magnified the problem, analyst Adam “The Bull” Gerstenhaber said.
“All the bad drafting has left you in a place where the Browns have very little young talent. Their best player under 26 is probably Martin Emerson,” Gerstenhaber said.
Crawford added that Emerson is a hit-or-miss player who has struggled during his three seasons in Cleveland.
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