That additional competition could come in a young rookie quarterback, as well as bring needed depth to the quarterback room for the 2025 season.
With the Browns holding the No. 2 overall pick, draft experts and analysts have considered the idea of using the pick to draft a quarterback high. Numerous names have been tossed around for Cleveland to consider, from Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders, to Jalen Milroe and Jaxson Dart.
They also hold other picks such as No. 33 in the second round, No. 67 and No. 94 in the third round if the Browns go a different direction at No. 2 but still want to take a quarterback. Berry said they don’t necessarily have to take a quarterback at No. 2, and they are considering their options for the first-round pick.
NFL Network’s Cynthia Frelund highlighted four quarterbacks who could be in the conversation for Cleveland at different spots in the draft. Those four players included Ward, Sanders, Dart and Tyler Shough.
Ward, who played in 38 games during his collegiate career, ended his 2024 season where he completed 305 passes for 4,313 yards and 39 touchdowns and just seven interceptions.
“PFF data shows he had the highest middle-of-the-field accuracy in all of college football last season,” Frelund said. “And he ranked seventh in FBS on accuracy on passes attempted in three or more seconds – which shows his ability to work outside of structure and forecasts well for helping avoid taking unnecessary sacks at the NFL level.”
Sanders spent the first two seasons of his collegiate career at Jackson State University before finishing his collegiate career at Colorado, starting two seasons for the Buffaloes. In two years, he completed 651 of 907 passing attempts for 7,364 yards, 64 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. Sanders also set an all-time career FBS record with his career completion percentage at 71.8.
“Sanders earned PFF’s third-highest accuracy, fourth-best deep passing and fifth-lowest uncatchable ball grade in FBS last season,” Frelund said. “Let’s talk about that last one specifically because that one helps projects pro results. Looking at eight seasons of data, college quarterbacks who throw a low percentage of uncatchable balls and rate well in turnover avoidance – which Sanders ranked second-best at in this quarterback class despite being under the most pressure – become NFL quarterbacks who have low turnover rates and lead their offenses to score about 2.5 more points per game.”
