Should the Panthers Trade Up with the Cleveland Browns in NFL Draft?

The Cleveland Browns want to move back in the first round of the NFL draft, and the Carolina Panthers have been aggressive with moving up and down the draft board under GM Dan Morgan.

The #Browns will explore another blockbuster trade down in the draft, this time from No. 6 overall ---> https://t.co/5VQ5y0qy0d
— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) February 24, 2026

He has made four substantial draft trades, moving around to select Xavier Legette, Jonathon Brooks, Nic Scourton, and Princely Umanmielen in his two seasons as GM. He's not yet moved up in the first round (though the Legette pick was after trading back into the first round after not having a pick).

With the Browns wanting to move back and the Panthers being a team with a history of moving up, should Morgan call Andrew Berry and get into the top 10?

The Panthers should probably not trade up with Browns, but what if they did?

Carolina Panthers running back Kay'Ron Lynch-Adams (34) tries to turn the corner against Cleveland Browns defensive end KJ Henry | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

The Panthers have the 19th pick, and the Browns have the sixth pick. At that placement, the Panthers could probably immediately address their biggest need with a true blue-chip prospect, a potential game-changer.

That said, it would likely be immensely costly. Let's look at the last time the Browns traded back. They picked second overall and the Jacksonville Jaguars sent them:

Fifth overall pick in 2025
36th overall pick in 2025
126th pick in 2025
2026 first-round pick

The Jaguars also got the 104th and 200th pick in 2025. Either way, it was an absolute haul, and that was to move up three spots. Granted, it was for Travis Hunter, a generational two-way prospect.

The cost to move up to six would be diluted by the fact that it's not the second pick nor is it Hunter on the board. But it would also be more costly to move up 13 slots as opposed to three, so the return would be similar.

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Colorado Buffaloes wide receiver Travis Hunter is selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Panthers would essentially have to part with their first rounder this year and next, a second-round pick this year, and maybe another mid-round pick. Is any prospect on the board worth that?

If the Panthers did move up, they could draft a few potential prospects. David Bailey and Arvell Reese will be off the board in all likelihood.

Sonny Styles, Rueben Bain Jr., Caleb Downs, Carnell Tate, Spencer Fano, and others would be available to them. Are those prospects worth two first-round picks and more? It's unlikely that move would age well for Carolina.

Getting Bain would fix the pass rush immediately, but it would hamper the ability to fix any other holes. Getting Downs would give them arguably the best prospect, not accounting for positional value, in the draft, but again, they'd be able to do little else.

It's a fun idea and it would give them a truly elite prospect, but it's not worth the cost. Trading up, if they do go down that road, should only be by a few slots to grab someone who has fallen on draft night.