While the Steelers wrap up their pre-draft visits, so do the Browns—and one can’t help but notice some overlap. Set to bring in QB Shedeur Sanders, the potential second-overall pick has already met with the Browns. Cleveland drafts second, with the Steelers all the way at 21.
Yesterday, the Browns met with both Jalen Milroe and Jaxson Dart, two potential Steelers first-round quarterback targets. Between those two and Sanders, those are probably the only realistic options for Pittsburgh. Cleveland would have its choice of the three, but of course, it can only draft one.
Just as it appears increasingly believed that the Browns will take the best player available and not necessarily the best quarterback, the Steelers are also by no means bound to draft a quarterback. Yet even though, Cleveland seems to be tracking similar interests.
Steelers fans are hoping that DT Derrick Harmon visits Pittsburgh; perhaps he will, fresh off a visit with the Browns nearby. Harmon is not a player they are likely to entertain at two, but they could trade back or trade up. Much more likely, their second-overall pick would focus on players like Abdul Carter and Travis Hunter.
The Browns have two third-round picks. While they have no fifth-round picks, they have four in the sixth, so they do have some ammunition to move around. And considering what they did to get Deshaun Watson, they’re not afraid to part with future first-round picks. In other words, the Browns could trade up from 33 back into the first round to steal a player from the Steelers.
Of course, the Steelers have to contend with 30 other teams in addition to the Browns while navigating the draft board. GM Omar Khan seems a bit more willing to move around than his predecessor, though it’s too early to judge. While he made a modest move up in the first round in 2023, Kevin Colbert made a bigger one previously.
Historically, the Bengals and the Ravens seem more likely than the Browns to draft players Steelers fans hoped for. Cleveland has had a less successful history in the draft, to say the least, but not without some hits.
Following the Watson failure, the Browns are looking for a franchise quarterback in addition to the Steelers. Cleveland might not want Sanders second overall, but what about somewhere in the teens? Certainly, if he were to fall all the way to 33, they might jump on him. But in order for that to happen, he would have to slide past the Steelers, too.
