The Opening Drive 4/25: Names the Browns Must Consider on NFL Draft Day 3

Tracking the best talent remaining for the Browns on the final day.

(Photo Courtesy of the Cleveland Browns)

Night one featured an ideal trade down, and then Spencer Fano and KC Concepcion. Night two brought more calculated moves with the selection of Denzel Boston at 39 and then some movement up to get their first defensive weapon in Emmanuel McNeil-Warren at 58. They capped it off adding more offensive line talent in Austin Barber by moving up again to 86. Patience and aggression mixed.

Now comes the part of the draft that separates the good front offices from the great ones. Day 3 is where rosters are built in the margins — where a late-round cornerback becomes a starter, where a developmental edge rusher earns a role in year two, where a savvy tight end gives a young quarterback a safety valve he will use for the foreseeable future. The Browns know how important today is and they’re hungry to keep finding solutions with their five remaining selections.

There will be plenty of opportunity to move into the 4th round and there is logic out there a move is coming. With that in mind, here are the key names the Browns should be circling when the clock hits very soon.

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Connor Lew, C, Auburn

Center · 6’3” 310 lbs · 1 sack allowed on 442 snaps (2024) · 29 career starts · 4-star recruit · ACL — Oct. 2025

Lew is one of the youngest players in the entire draft class and, if not for an ACL tear that ended his junior season in week eight against Missouri, he would have been a genuine Day 2 pick. The Auburn center was a four-star recruit from Kennesaw, Georgia who took over the starting position as a true freshman in 2023, won SEC Freshman of the Week in his second start, and earned All-Freshman honors in his first year. His sophomore tape is the film that every serious evaluator goes back to: 12 starts, a PFF Team of the Week nod after dominating Georgia, a Rimington Trophy watch list appearance, and a captaincy. He allowed one sack on 442 pass-blocking snaps that year. One. The lateral quickness that separates good centers from great ones is apparent on his best snap — he climbs to second-level linebackers like a guard, reaches on outside zone with a fluidity that is extremely rare for a pivot, and processes stunts and late blitzers with calm and patience. The ACL changes the immediate timeline. He likely cannot compete for a starting job in September. But the Browns should be drawn to the long-term upside here, and the ceiling on a healthy Lew is a foundational center who can anchor this offensive line for the foreseeable future if it all works out. Great Day 3 value swing.

Browns Fit: Long-term solution swing at center at a Day 3 price. If the medical checks out, this might be the best value pick in the entire draft for a team that just invested a first-round pick in an offensive tackle.