Browns Target WR for Shedeur Sanders With No. 6 Pick in Mel Kiper Jr.'s NFL Mock Draft 2.0

ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. is expecting the Cleveland Browns to find a new target for Shedeur Sanders early in the 2026 NFL draft.

Kiper projected Tuesday that the Browns will use their No. 6 pick to select Ohio State wide receiver Carnell Tate.

Tate could immediately "step in as the top option for the Browns" as a rookie, Kiper predicted.

The Browns are also in need of offensive line help, but thanks to their two first-round picks, they could decide to target the position with the Jacksonville Jaguars' selection at No. 24, per Kiper.

Bleacher Report's latest 2026 mock draft projected Tate going to the Los Angeles Rams with the No. 13 pick.

B/R NFL scout Dame Parson described him as a wide receiver whose "height and wingspan offer a quarterback-friendly target."

"Tate is a bouncy athlete who can climb the ladder over defenders at the catch point," Parson wrote. "He has soft, reliable hands and excellent ball tracking skills."

Tate recorded 875 receiving yards and nine receiving touchdowns through 11 games of his junior season at Ohio State.

The Browns' top wide receiving trio of Jerry Jeudy, Isaiah Bond and Cedric Tillman, meanwhile, combined for just 1,211 total receiving yards during Cleveland's run to a 5-12 finish to the 2025 NFL season.

That campaign saw the Browns try out Joe Flacco and Dillon Gabriel under center before turning to Sanders, who could now be competing for the starting job in 2026.

The Browns could hope that adding a potential WR1 will help Sanders, or whichever other quarterback wins the starting job, help Cleveland rebound from running one of the least effective passing offenses in the NFL last season.

The 2026 NFL draft is set to kick off on April 23 in Pittsburgh.