The Cleveland Browns started off the 2026 NFL Draft the same way they did in 2025, trading down with their first first-round pick. But on Friday, the Browns got on the phones to make a move in the opposite direction, trading up in the second round.
Originally slated to make the No. 70 pick, the Browns got themselves on the clock sooner, sending No. 70 and No. 107 to the San Francisco 49ers, to instead pick at No. 58 and No. 152.
The Browns chose Toledo Rockets safety Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, who spent four seasons in Toledo.
McNeil-Warren finished with 212 total tackles and 105 solo tackles.
General manager Andrew Berry spoke last week at his pre-draft media availability and touched on the potential of trading up.
“I think probably in every draft there’s always someone who it’s realistic to trade up for unless you have the first pick. I think oftentimes though, what’s associated with that is like it’s not just, ‘Hey, do I like that player enough to trade up for him’, it’s what’s the cost, what’s the acquisition cost? And so, I think that’s a hard question to answer without having kind of both sides of it, but that’s certainly a possibility,” Berry said.
