The Ohio State Buckeyes have multiple players who are not only okay with being drafted by the Cleveland Browns but also seem to even want to join the NFL franchise situated roughly 150 miles to the north.
Carnell Tate told reporters at the NFL Combine on Friday that “It would mean a lot to stay next to Columbus ... Then I could go out there and see all my guys at Ohio State. I know Ohio State fans love the Cleveland Browns, so why not?”
Tate's response to the Browns question was similar to Cleveland native Arvell Reese's response when asked earlier in the week in Indianapolis.
“That would mean a lot because I’m from Cleveland,” Reese said. “That would be crazy.
“It’d just mean a lot to me to be one of those guys who kids can now look up to. [There’s] a bunch of guys I looked up to growing up, wanting to be like. It’d feel good to be doing something good.”
The Browns have two first-round picks in April. Maybe both Reese and Tate could end up donning the brown, orange, and white this coming fall and beyond.
The Cleveland Browns are a desirable NFL franchise again
It's very notable that several Buckeyes are openly lobbying to end up with the Browns. It's clear that something about Ohio's second-most winningest NFL team's narrative has rapidly changed in recent years.
One potential reason is Shedeur Sanders' arrival in 2025. While most wrote off Sanders as an NFL quarterback after Dillon Gabriel was selected two picks earlier, the former Colorado Buffaloes star under his father, Deion Sanders, the "Grown QB," has surpassed many expectations and has some thinking he could be a franchise player.
That talk is premature. Sanders may flame out in 2026 before the regular season even begins. He was a fifth-round pick, after all. For all we know, the team may have to settle for Deshaun Watson due to how much money he's owed on one of the worst contracts in professional sports history.
Still, something has changed over the past few seasons. Shedeur brings the headlines, but GM Andrew Berry built a top defense and has hired several respected head coaches, including Kevin Stefanski and now Todd Monken, to tie it all together.
Cleveland is cool, and several Ohio State players actively wanting to play there speaks to how far the Browns have come to be respected as an NFL landing spot for the draft's top stars.