Where would the Browns pick in the NFL Draft if the season ended today?

After yet another discouraging loss in the midst of a 2-6 regular season, the Cleveland Browns keep climbing up the NFL Draft order.

With nine games to play after this week’s bye, there’s still some time to turn the season around, but if everything ended today, Cleveland would be one of the first teams called up to the podium in next April’s NFL Draft.

Keep in mind, Cleveland also owns the Jaguars first-round pick as a result of a trade.

At the moment, the Browns would be selecting fourth, only behind the Saints (1-7), Jets (1-7), Titans (1-7). Even with identical records of 2-6, Cleveland would still be slotted ahead of the Dolphins -- whom they’ve already beaten -- and Giants, thanks to the strength of schedule criteria (using all 17 opponents’ current mark.) The Browns current strength of schedule sits at .456, while the Dolphins are at .489 and the Giants at .553.

Elsewhere in the first round, Cleveland would be called up to the stage again for the 18th pick, originally from Jacksonville (4-3). While the Jaguars are currently tied with Chicago and Pittsburgh, they would pick ahead of projected AFC North winners Steelers, but behind the Bears, due to the strength of schedule criteria. Jacksonville stands at .500, but Chicago at .476.

There’s still much football to be played, and not only does the win-loss record change on a weekly basis, but also the numbers for strength of schedule can vary greatly from now until teams are put on the clock when the NFL Draft goes live in Pittsburgh, on April 23rd.

However, projecting the Browns ending up with a Top-5 pick seems like a good bet at this point in the season, when head coach Kevin Stefanski refuses to entertain any ideas of a quarterback change despite all we have seen -- and more importantly, all that we haven’t seen -- from rookie Dillon Gabriel after four starts.

ESPN’s Football Power Index seems to agree with current strength of schedule projections. This model simulates the remainder of the season 10,000 times every week, and at this moment they’re giving the Browns an average draft position of 4.1, behind the Titans, Saints and Jets.

ESPN’s model also has the Browns at a 18.5 percent chance of “winning” the first overall pick, a 75.5 percent chance of selecting within the Top-5, and a huge 96.4 percent chance of ending up with a slot inside the Top-10.

As for Jacksonville’s original pick, now the property of the Browns, ESPN’s model has them standing at 18 with a 17.9 average draft position, with only a 10.5 percent chance of that pick becoming a Top-10 selection.