Dawgs By Nature
The Browns will need to draft a young quarterback this year
The Cleveland Browns recently signed Joe Flacco to again come in and likely become the starting quarterback for the 2025 season. Love it or find it meh, it is what it is. The franchise also has its likely backup in place with the trade for Kenny Pickett. Now, they need to grab a young buck to groom.
This year’s QB class is full of talent. Cam Ward of Miami and Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders appear to be the headliners. Jaxson Dart of Ole Miss has vaulted himself into the bottom of the first round or anywhere in Round 2. Going into the Senior Bowl, he was a fourth-round prospect.
RELATED: JAXSON DART INTERVIEW
Other quarterbacks that have been tied to the Browns are Ohio State’s Will Howard, Tyler Shough of Louisville, Jalen Milroe from Alabama, and Indiana’s Kurtis Rourke.
And Riley Leonard of Notre Dame.
Dawgs By Nature’s Barry Shuck interviewed Leonard at this year’s Senior Bowl.
Q: What has been the best part of the Senior Bowl?
A: The biggest thing is going from the Natty right into the Senior Bowl, you don’t have time to mope around and complain about losing. So, it’s great to get back into football. The best part here is competing. Any time you can sit down with coaches from an NFL team and look a head coach in the eye and talk ball, it’s really cool for me.
Q: You are one of the success stories of the portal. How did you deal with the transition?
A: Nobody accepts a scholarship thinking they will end up in the transfer portal. I am a very loyal guy. When you make a move like I did, going from Duke to Notre Dame, it can come off differently. I just tried to make the most of my new opportunities with my new teammates but at the same time try to hang onto my relationships with Duke as well. I had a good time at Duke and have no animosity there. I just thought going to Notre Dame was the best opportunity for my career.
Q: One aspect of your play that keeps coming up is your mental toughness. How do you deal with the spotlight?
A: Number one, when you lose a game that you are supposed to win, it sucks. There is no way around stating this. We lost a heartbreaker to Northern Illinois, and after the game coach told us the secret is that there is no secret. You have to put your head down and go to work. How do you overcome it? The work. I do keep my life very simple. I don’t text much and stay away from social media. You don’t have an option to respond when your back’s against the wall.
**Q: Now that the off-season is here,...
!["A legit possibility he [Jaxson Dart] ends up going ahead of Shedeur"](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/M1ei6gtBmd0/mqdefault.jpg)
