Cleveland Browns have little certainty at the QB position with Shedeur Sanders, lower 2026 NFL draft pick
Having a quarterback, let alone a franchise quarterback, can help you with a lot of things in the NFL. The goal for every 32-team in the NFL shouldn’t be to make the playoffs, it’s to win the Super Bowl. For the Cleveland Browns, it starts with finding the quarterback.
Since the team has returned, the quarterback roulette has been changing for years and years. Every year, a new quarterback is under center, whether it’s a journeyman or a rookie who has shown promise but doesn’t pan out. With the Browns going into the 2026 NFL draft without a top-two pick, the team is going to have to navigate the quarterback position once again because they currently do not have certainty at the position.
If the Browns end up picking outside of the top two, the odds of them trading up for a quarterback in a two QB class are unlikely. An overpay to trade up is likely, and the Browns aren’t in the position to do that.
It’s likely Indiana Hoosiers QB Fernando Mendoza will declare for the NFL Draft. It is less certain, but still likely, that Oregon Ducks QB Dante Moore will as well. Despite what people say about the two, these are prospects with high ceilings with the ability to elevate the floor. Cleveland isn’t far off from being a playoff team, considering how competitive the team has been this season, but the lack of offensive talent has to be addressed in order for the team to possibly contend next season.
The current QB room is Deshaun Watson, rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders. In Watson’s case, he’s still on the roster, and the odds of him playing another down in a Browns uniform are slim. Gabriel has enough of a sample size to understand he is a backup quarterback. Sanders’s case? It’s complicated.
The sample size is large enough for Cleveland to understand that Sanders hasn’t done enough to prove that he is the starter going into next season. The offensive supporting cast hasn’t done him favors, but we’ve seen Tennessee Titans rookie QB Cam Ward elevate a below-average cast while his numbers improve. New Orleans Saints rookie QB Tyler Shough has been a surprise despite not being highly touted.
Consistency matters when evaluating these rookies, and so fa,r Sanders has been anything but consistent. The numbers aren’t great, and the tape leaves you wanting more. Sure, Sanders has flashes, but the mistakes are more prevalent and they aren’t being eliminated. Is he a rookie? Yes, but you would expect the mistakes to be limited to a degree, considering how he has more interceptions than touchdowns in the last 7 games.
His pocket presence can be inconsistent, and his decision-making is questionable, but he has a decent enough arm to push the ball down the field.
Against the Steelers, he didn’t give any confidence to the front office that he should comfortably be QB1 next season. If anything, it should motivate the team to invest in getting competition to compete with Sanders. This shouldn’t be a slight to Sanders but the tape backs up the numbers and when you consider how his performances have been more inconsistent as of late, the front office should be motivated to fix this major roster issue.
Whether it’s bringing in competition via draft or in free agency, the Browns are entering the new year without a valid answer at the quarterback position.
Category: General Sports
