Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders is not your typical fifth-round draft pick.
Initially projected to go somewhere in Round 1, Sanders experienced one of the more difficult-to-watch draft falls of all time before the Browns took him with the 144th overall pick back in April.
But despite his fifth-round standing, Sanders is very much in competition to win the team’s starting quarterback job despite the crowded QB room that also features Super Bowl champion Joe Flacco, former first-round pick Kenny Pickett, and third-round rookie Dillon Gabriel.
And while head coach Kevin Stefanski has maintained all along that all four players have as good a chance as the next to be Cleveland’s QB1 heading into Week 1 against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sept. 7.
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But if you ask Bleacher Report’s Moe Moton, he thinks it’s possible none of the four will be the Browns’ starter next season.
“[Running backs] Jerome Ford and Quinshon Judkins must find open running lanes because Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, Shedeur Sanders or Dillon Gabriel may feel immense pocket pressure off the edges,” Moton wrote. “… The Browns will remain in the AFC North cellar with an eye on quarterbacks next year.”
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If the Browns are thinking quarterback next summer heading into the 2026 draft, it likely means that Sanders either didn’t win the starting job, or he didn’t show enough for the Browns’ front office to feel comfortable moving forward with him as the franchise passer.
And to Moton’s point, the Browns have two first-round picks in 2026 — their own plus the Jaguars’ pick, both of which could be in the top 10 (Cleveland went 3-14 in 2024 and Jacksonville went 4-13) — and the 2026 QB class is loaded.
The crown jewel is Texas’ Arch Manning, but many analysts believe he’ll be sticking around school as long as he can.
But outside of Manning, there’s still plenty of talent to go around with as many as six other passers expected to go in Round 1 including Clemson’s Cade Klubnik, LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier, Penn State’s Drew Allar, South Carolina’s LaNorris Sellers, Arizona State’s Sam Leavitt, and Miami’s Carson Beck.
Should the Browns find themselves picking in the top five again next year, there’s a good chance they’ll take a quarterback with that pick unless Pickett, Sanders, or Gabriel make a really compelling case not to.
Even if one of the three has an All-Pro-caliber season, it would be really hard for the Browns to pass on Manning if he declares for the 2026 draft.
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