Browns Draft Joe Royer

  The Cleveland Browns were expected to be in the market for a tight end during the draft and they drafted one with their final pick in the fifth round, but it was a mild but pleasant surprise when the choice for Joe Royer of Cincinnati.

The Browns were looking for a blocking tight end, and Royer is better known for his receiving, having broken Travis Kelce's records at Cincinnati for catches in a season.

Royer finished 2025 with 29 catches for 419 yards and four touchdowns, and at 6'5 and 250 pounds, Royer catches the ball well and will gain yards after the catch.

Royer isn't very fast, and he's going to beat very few defenders deep, but his hands are soft, and I can see Royer becoming a dependable checkdown tight end for the Cleveland quarterbacks.

Royer played three seasons at Ohio State in limited action, catching four passes in fourteen games, before transferring to Cincinnati before the 2024 season.

This is an interesting choice, with Royer's size suggesting he could grow into a solid blocking tight end with reliable hands on short routes, and Royer looks like a complement to Harold Fannin at tight end.

That's not what the Browns may have been looking for immediately, but Royer could develop into a contributor beyond those limitations.