Latest Browns mock draft adds talent to ailing passing attack in first round

Even if the real thing is still months away, mock drafts always have a way of inspiring a little optimism for NFL fans, especially when their teams are doing as badly as the Cleveland Browns.

CBS Sports’s Cooper Petagna takes a jab at how the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft could shake out, including the Browns two picks among the first 18 selections based off current projections.

With the fourth overall pick, Petagna has the Browns selecting Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza, hardly a surprise given the level of play shown by Browns’ passers this year.

Mendoza has been shooting up draft boards in recent weeks while leading the second-ranked Hoosiers to a perfect 8-0 record to start the season. By the way, Mendoza has placed himself firmly in the Heisman race, as well, overtaking Alabama’s Ty Simpson as the betting favorite this week.

In CBS Sports’ simulation, though, Mendoza would not be the first quarterback selected. That honor would go to Simpson, picked by the Saints first overall. One turn later, they have Oregon’s Dante Moore heading to the Jets.

Ohio State wide receiver would be the first non-quarterback selected, per CBS Sports, by the Titans at third overall, before giving way to Cleveland’s pick.

The Browns, summoned back to the main stage at the 18 spot in the first round thanks to a draft-day trade with the Jaguars in 2025, would then look to add a weapon for Mendoza on offense, picking Arizona State’s Jordyn Tyson, a wide receiver.

According to CBSSports, that would make Tyson the third wideout selected overall, following Tate and the Cardinals’ projected selection of USC’s Makai Lemon at ninth.

For the season, Tyson already has 57 catches for 628 yards and eight touchdowns.

Both, Mendoza and Tyson, were previously highlighted here as potential first-round draft targets for Cleveland.

If the 2026 NFL Draft unfolds in such a way that Cleveland would be able to address quarterback and wide receiver in the first round as CBSSports’ mock draft proposes, they’re still left with a high second-rounder and a high third-rounder -- as part of an arsenal totalling nine selections overall -- where they could find coveted prospects to fill other needs. That’s four picks within the first 70 selections, if the currently projected draft order holds.

Among the most pressing needs noted by league observers are offensive line and defensive secondary. 

Cleveland got it right this year with the selections of linebacker Carson Schwesinger and running back Quinshon Judkins in the second round, and tight end Harold Fannin Jr. at the top of the third.