2024 NFL Draft: Why Cleveland could trade back from pick 54

Based on Andrew Berry’s history, Cleveland could move back in the 2024 NFL Draft

The 2024 NFL Draft is officially two weeks away, and the Cleveland Browns are currently adjusting and finalizing their draft board.

The time leading up to the draft is exciting because it’s fun to try and figure out who each team will be drafting, but it’s also fun to predict some of the things that’ll go on “behind the scenes” as well.

Some NFL front offices block out all of the outside noise and make their assigned selections as is, and then some choose to do everything they can to find value. Needless to say, Cleveland has been the epitome of the latter.

Though anything can happen on draft day, there are a few reasons why the Browns’ front office might decide to move their first pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Andrew Berry loves to add value by trading back

Whether that’s to add picks in this year’s draft or next, Berry has shown that he favors trading down instead of up.

If this front office believes that they can still acquire a player they want in a later draft slot, they can trade back and maneuver around to maximize the value of their selections. For example, in our latest mock draft, Jared trades back twice in order to customize Cleveland’s pick selection for 2024. He also acquires more draft capital for the 2025 NFL draft as well.

Based on history, this is a good representation of what Andrew Berry likes to do and what’s led to the selections of players like Martin Emerson Jr. and Jerome Ford as of late.

Players begin to “fall” when it gets close to Cleveland’s pick

As mentioned above if the Browns are targeting certain players with their first selection and see that there’s a plethora of them still on the board at pick 50, they could think about trading back a few spots to gain value.

For example, if Cleveland is targeting three to four different offensive tackles at pick 54, they could try and move back if all or most of them are still available by the time it gets to pick 50.

The Browns could theoretically end up with something like pick 61 in 2024, along with an additional 2025 4th-rounder by making a move.

There isn’t a lot of extra space on the 2024 roster

Unlike most years, the 2024 iteration of the Cleveland Browns has very few holes on the roster as of right now. It could benefit the team to “push” some of these picks into 2025 via draft day trades.

Based on the amount of players that have been retained as well as the financial side of things, there isn’t much flexibility on the roster this year.

2025, however, is a very different story. The Browns can get out of multiple contracts if they choose to and will most likely be looking to fill some extra roster spots with draft picks.

Do you think Cleveland will keep pick 54 or trade back? Join fellow Browns fans in the comment section below.