Browns NFL draft: College playoff game priority watching for Cleveland fans

2026 NFL draft could be led by Fernando Mendoza, Dante Moore, who play each other in Friday’s College Football Playoffs

Summarized by AI ⓘ

What is the story about?

The Cleveland Browns are slotted at the sixth overall pick in this April’s NFL draft. Who will they select? What positions are on their short list of the greatest needs? Will they go offense or defense?

The sixth draft pick alone is a valuable asset for any ballclub. Last year, the Browns owned the second overall pick, then traded it away to the Jacksonville Jaguars, who had a man crush on CB/WR Travis Hunter out of Colorado. The Browns dropped from #2 to #5, then grabbed defensive tackle Mason Graham,

who ended up making the ESPN All-Rookie Team. Plus, in the trade, Cleveland ended up with the Jaguars first-round pick in 2026. So, now Cleveland has two first-round picks this year.

So, what exactly do the Browns need in the draft?

A blue-chip receiver or two, an offensive guard plus two offensive tackles, and an EDGE rusher are all good places to begin this conversation.

And what a young quarterback to groom?

Maybe. Maybe the team is fine with what they have. Already on the roster are two rookies in Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders. Plus, veteran Deshaun Watson will be back in training camp. Does Cleveland really want another QB? That decision may lie with whoever the club hires as its new head coach.

Just so happens in Friday’s college football playoff game, the nation’s projected Top-2 signal-callers are on full display in the Oregon versus Indiana contest in the Peach Bowl on ESPN with a kickoff at 7:30 p.m. (Eastern).

The starter for the Indiana University Hoosiers is junior Fernando Mendoza (6’-5”, 225 pounds). For the University of Oregon Ducks? QB Dante Moore (6’-3”, 206 pounds). These two are ranked 1-2 as far as this year’s quarterback group. And what makes it more intriguing is that both are ranked in the Top-6.

And who needs a young quarterback? Who has a draft pick in the Top-6 of the first round? Get the connection?

Both Mendoza and Moore will be front and center for all Browns fans.

The Las Vegas Raiders and New York Jets are picking 1-2 in the draft. Their rosters feature a veteran quarterback, and their thought process just may want to improve other areas and pass on the two young signal-callers. Then again, these two QBs may go with the first and second picks.

And even if one or the other slips to the Browns’ #6 slot, Cleveland may pass as well and focus more on the offensive line or a receiver. Then again, the front office just might shout, “Oooo, that’s a Bingo!” and take a quarterback.

However, on Friday night, both of these young bucks will be on display for Browns fans to absorb in the same gbame.