‘I think the two spot gets very interesting if the Browns are listening to a ‘Godfather’ deal for them to trade back and someone to trade up into the top three.’
CLEVELAND — Trade rumors involving the Cleveland Browns are heating up as we get closer to the opening round of the 2025 NFL Draft on Thursday night.
During Tuesday’s edition of “Get Up” on ESPN, NFL analyst Peter Schrager reported that calls have been made to the Browns from teams looking to move up to the No. 2 overall pick. Schrager says the New York Giants are also getting calls about the No. 3 pick.
“Neither team is outwardly rejecting those overtures,” he added.
Schrager says teams are looking to trade up to pick either Colorado WR/DB Travis Hunter, Penn State DE Abdul Carter, or Boise State RB Ashton Jeanty.
“I think the two spot gets very interesting if the Browns are listening to a ‘Godfather’ deal for them to trade back and someone to trade up into the top three,” he said on the show.
Most mock drafts leading up to Thursday have the Browns selecting Hunter, whom GM Andrew Berry has referred to as a “unicorn” and likened to to reigning National League MVP and baseball two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani during his pre-draft press conference last week.
Berry also noted that all options were on the table for the Browns at No. 2, including trading up or trading down.
So what would a “Godfather” deal (an offer they can’t refuse) look like for the Browns? In addition to swapping first-round picks in this year’s draft, they would likely want a 2026 first-round pick and/or multiple day 2 picks (rounds 2 and 3) in this year’s draft.
Keep in mind that the Browns have not had a first-round draft pick since 2021 and are in desperate need of impact players. Hunter is the consensus best player in the draft by nearly every publication.
Meanwhile, the Browns are also expected to take a quarterback sometime during the first two or three rounds of this year’s draft and have been rumored to be willing to trade back into the first round.