RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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The NFL season has yet to begin, but this is Northeast Ohio and the team of record is the Cleveland Browns , so no matter the time of year, it’s draft time.
Listen to the Cleveland sports talk airwaves and few people express any sense of confidence the Browns will do anything other than find themselves looking at making a move to get the best available quarterback in the 2027 NFL Draft. In other words, no one should take the over on the team's 5.5 wins and lose a bet in the process.
THE. SEASON. HAS. NOT. STARTED.
This is what happens when a team makes arguably the worst trade in sports history, confesses to taking a big swing and missing then names the subject of said trade, Deshaun Watson , the starting quarterback. Add to the mix a postgame press conference meltdown where Watson expressed his “fondness” for fans and fans subsequently going right back at him and what do you get?
It’s easy to see.
There are far too early mock drafts and then there are ridiculously early mock drafts. Jordan Reid may have beaten the record for the art form with the one posted Aug. 26 on ESPN’s website.
Talk about draining any sense of optimism that remained from a fandom after the most recent spate of dysfunctionality. Reid has the Browns being able to secure the No. 1 overall pick and using it on Oregon quarterback Dante Moore.
“Moore has squeaky-clean mechanics, and his accuracy shined in his first year as a starter. This would be a good situation for him, with young players he can grow alongside,” he writes. “If he brings his stellar college play to the NFL, the Browns could turn things around quickly.”
And he’s a Cleveland – well, East Cleveland (yes, there’s a difference) kid. But it’s curious that Moore goes at the top spot while the prohibitive favorite of next year’s QB class, Arch Manning, goes second to the Arizona Cardinals, despite the Manning family’s ties to Jimmy Haslam’s family.
As written: far too early.
George M. Thomas covers a myriad of things including sports and pop culture, but mostly sports, he thinks, for the Beacon Journal.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: The far, far, far too early 2026 NFL mock drafts begin with Browns at No. 1
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