The Cleveland Browns, rumored to be willing to trade down from their No. 6 overall pick in the 2026 NFL draft, did just that Thursday night when they traded the pick to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Cleveland traded the sixth overall pick in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft to the Chiefs, in exchange for the ninth overall pick, as well as pick No. 74 in the third round and pick No. 148 in the fifth round.
The Browns now have the No. 9 and No. 24 picks in the first round of the draft. They have a total of 11 picks in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Quarterbacks Shedeur Sanders and Deshaun Watson of the Cleveland Browns watch from the sidelines during a game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Huntington Bank Field in Cleveland, Ohio on September 7, 2025. (Jason Miller/Getty Images)
So the Chiefs gave up three picks in the first trade of the first round.
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And we know what the fans of both clubs were thinking ahead of the election:
Chiefs fans thought we know something they don’t. And then the Chiefs selected cornerback Mansoor Delane from LSU — a move no doubt forced by the club’s trade of Pro Bowl cornerback Trent McDuffie to the Los Angeles Rams earlier in the offseason.
So the Chiefs are filling a major need, assuming Delane is actually the quality corner they think.
LSU Tigers CB Mansoor Delane celebrates a defensive stop against the Clemson Tigers at Memorial Stadium in South Carolina. (Ken Ruinard/USA TODAY Network)
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By the way, ESPN’s Mel Kiper didn’t like the pick. He had Delane as the 14th best player in the draft.
“It was a necessity,” answered ESPN analyst Louis Riddick, a former NFL defensive back.
Browns fans didn’t think so.
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They probably thought something similar to “We’ve done something”.
This is understandable because they are Browns fans and this could have been the Browns Browning.
Well, the Browns, who moved down three slots, gave up a shot to draft linebacker Sonny Styles from Ohio State to the Washington Commanders, receiver Jordyn Tyson to the New Orleans Saints, and then the Browns got their chance with the newly acquired No. 9 pick:
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Offensive tackle Spencer Fano of Utah.
Cleveland Browns general manager Andrew Berry speaks at the NFL Scouting Combine at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis, Ind., on Feb. 24, 2026. (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)
Fano is good. And he makes the Browns’ offensive line instantly better because he’ll likely start at left tackle for them.
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So what will Browns fans think about this pick?
They’ll probably wonder why the Browns didn’t pick Miami’s Francis Mauigoa, who went No. 10 to the New York Giants and promised to “die for” Jaxson Dart if necessary. They will wonder about this because Browns fans expect the worst.
