The deal moves the Browns up to the 166th overall pick, and gives them eight total selections for the entire draft. They also received a fifth-rounder in 2027.
CLEVELAND — We’re just hours away from the NFL draft, and the Browns are already making moves.
Cleveland has agreed to a trade with the Houston Texans that will see the teams swap multiple Day 3 picks. From the Texans, the Browns received a fifth-round selection in this year’s draft (No. 166 overall) along with another fifth-rounder in 2027. In exchange, Houston gets three 2025 late-round picks from Cleveland: a pair of sixth-rounders (Nos. 179 and 216) and a seventh-rounder (No. 255).
What the Browns decide to do with their new selection is anyone’s guess, but the deal does move them back into the fifth round of the draft, which begins with the first round Thursday night in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Overall, the team now has a total of eight picks in the draft (including the second overall selection) and still retains a pair of sixth-rounders at Nos. 192 and 200. For the moment, Cleveland has no seventh-round picks.
2025 will mark the first time the Browns have selected in the first round since 2021, having traded their previous three top selections (along with three lower-round picks) in the ill-fated deal that brought quarterback Deshaun Watson to Cleveland. Ironically, that deal was struck with the same Houston Texans, who eventually used their stockpile to help build a playoff contender with pieces like Will Anderson Jr. On the flip side, the Browns have fallen back into the bottom of the league’s standings, and Watson has played in just 19 out of a possible 52 games.
General Manager Andrew Berry will try to begin the tough rebuilding process tonight, although there’s a chance he might not be done with the dealmaking. According to ESPN’s Peter Schrager, the Browns are receiving calls about trading the No. 2 pick and are not “outwardly rejecting those overtures.”