Three Current Browns Players Who Could Lose Their Jobs on Draft Night

The Cleveland Browns have the NFL Draft to look forward to next week, with plenty of questions to answer about who they’ll select with their first-round picks. 

Not only do they have to decide who they want to draft, they’ll also face serious decisions this offseason regarding starters who could be in jeopardy of losing their jobs. 

There’s no question the two most important positions to address in the draft are wide receiver and offensive tackle, so their two premium first-round picks are exactly where they can target those needs. 

While Cleveland did bring in a few notable free agents to bolster their offensive line and receiver depth, the draft will be a primary tool to stock up on hopeful impact starters for next season. 

In terms of which starters could be at risk of losing their jobs to this year’s class of Browns rookies, here are a few players who might have to face the music come draft night. 

Dawand Jones, Tackle

With the Browns' acquisition of right tackle Tytus Howard this offseason, he’ll almost certainly be their starting right tackle to open the season. That was Jones’ primary position with Cleveland early in his career before he shifted over to left tackle. 

Now, Jones faces a potential positional battle to earn the starting job on Cleveland’s blindside if the Browns draft a lineman at either No. 6 or No. 24 overall. 

It’s been reported that the Browns could move a right tackle prospect to their left side heading into the summer programs, or they could draft a left tackle to avoid any position changes. 

Either way, Jones has worked back from a season-ending LCL tear suffered in 2025, so there’s no certainty he’ll be counted on to start as is. Jones may have to seriously impress during training camp if he wants to beat out a highly drafted lineman for the starting tackle job. 

Cedric Tillman, Wide Receiver

It’s difficult to say how jeopardized Tillman’s role in Cleveland’s offense will be, but based on his performance last season, a rookie wide receiver could have no problem taking a large share of his reps in 2026. 

Tillman caught about 50% of the passes thrown his direction last season, hauling in 21 catches on 39 targets for only 270 yards. Not to mention, his issues dropping the football have made him a difficult player to trust down the stretch. 

There is a chance he could continue as a rotational receiver moving forward, especially if Cleveland uses their No. 6 overall pick on a premium pass catcher like Ohio State’s Carnell Tate. 

Either way, his play hasn’t been inspiring enough to be trusted as one of their top receiving threats, and he could be lost in Cleveland’s receiver depth depending on how his training camp goes. 

Myles Harden, Cornerback

The Browns have relied on a solid cornerback group in recent years, but they lost two key players after Greg Newsome's midseason trade and Martin Emerson's injury before the 2025 season. 

In stepped Myles Harden, who played in 16 games for the Browns in 2025 while serving as their third corner. No interceptions and frequent blown coverages don’t show up on his stat sheet—the key reasons for a needed upgrade. 

Denzel Ward and Tyson Campbell are locked in to start for Cleveland in 2026, but outside of that, there isn’t a clear-cut third option. 

Cleveland could look to trade up into the first round following their two top picks, and with a deep class of cornerbacks this year, it could be a sneaky position to address early, giving Harden competition during training camp.