The Cleveland Browns are trending in the right direction when it comes to their team-building approach. However, they know that it will take a lot more than just signing capable players from free agency to stand above the strongest teams in the AFC.

This is where the magic of the NFL Draft comes in. The draft will allow the Cleveland Browns to bring over talented youngsters who can immediately make an impact on the team’s overall performance and help them inch closer to the Super Bowl.

Jack Duffin of Orange and Brown Report wrote about positions he thinks the Browns should focus on. Let’s take a look at where the team must strengthen through the incoming rookie class.

Key positions the Cleveland Browns should focus on in the 2024 NFL Draft
The first position that will likely be targeted by the Browns front office come draft day is the offensive line. Multiple gaps in the O-line depth chart will make these positions priority selections in the 2024 draft.

Duffin especially argued that drafting a replacement for beloved Browns G Joel Bitonio should be at the top of the Browns’ list of priorities at this point:

You have to treat every year now as Bitonio’s last due to his age so drafting someone that can spend a year learning off of him or potentially two then makes sense.

Nick Chubb’s unfortunate injury also opened the possibility of drafting another running back to become a developmental piece while the Browns test the waters with their RB1.

Duffin writes:

What happens with Chubb is a question that will drive this decision, it could be that he starts the season and first eight weeks on the Physically Unable To Perform list. I’m not sure they view Ford as a long term piece so I can certainly see them drafting someone who can be a running back in the room for the next four years.

While David Njoku has the tight end position down pat, but the long-time Browns analyst is begging for them to add depth to the TE room:

I have been crying out for them to draft a tight end and prepare for the future but they never seem to pull the trigger. This feels the year they need to unless they properly address it in free agency.

Will the Cleveland Browns finally build a Super Bowl-worthy team?
The Cleveland Browns are in a weird spot where you don’t know whether they actually have what it takes to build a team that can take it all the way to the Super Bowl. They have the pieces, but there’s somehow one piece missing that would finally enable the Browns to become the team they were always meant to be.

Maybe this year’s NFL Draft will be the missing link that will complete the picture for the Browns this season.