Total Pro Sports
An NFL analyst predicts that the Cleveland Browns will pull the plug on the Shedeur Sanders project and turn to the 2026 draft to find their long-term quarterback.
The Browns selected Shedeur Sanders in round five at No. 144 overall, a mild surprise since they used a third-round pick on Oregon signal-caller Dillon Gabriel. Those two, along with veterans Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett, are battling it out for the Browns’ starting quarterback job.
Sanders was the consensus No. 2 quarterback in the 2025 NFL Draft behind Miami’s Cam Ward, who went first overall to the Tennessee Titans. His draft fall was one of the top offseason storylines, but only time will tell if he can make the other teams pay for it like Tom Brady did.
Shane Hallam of Draft Sharks recently published a complete seven-round 2026 NFL mock draft. He has the Browns selecting South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers, the second QB taken behind Arch Manning (first overall to the New Orleans Saints):
“Sellers has the athleticism of Jalen Milroe — but at 20 pounds heavier. He also has flashed much better accuracy and ball placement at South Carolina. If Sellers takes the next steps, he could be a fantasy football cheat code with his size and rushing ability.”
Deshaun Watson will likely miss all of 2025 recovering from a second surgery on a ruptured Achilles. Flacco and Pickett are on expiring contracts, so the Browns will likely look at a new starting QB in 2026 if Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel fail to emerge as a viable starting option. Of course, Cleveland doesn’t know what they have in either rookie until/unless they get playing time.
Sanders probably won’t be Cleveland’s Week 1 starter, but he’ll likely get a look if Flacco and/or Pickett can’t hold down the fort. Even if the Browns want to move on from Sanders after just one year, he’ll have plenty of interest from other teams who will want to experiment with him behind center.
