The Cleveland Browns now-infamous NFL Draft haul of two quarterbacks has taken the NFL world by storm. ESPN’s Damien Woody says the Browns’ top priority is identifying which rookie quarterback can be their long‑term answer.
Here’s who could fit the bill.
Damien Woody Says Browns Must Find Their Franchise QB Between Dillon Gabriel, Shedeur Sanders
The Browns and an unstable quarterback situation are essentially synonymous. Since returning to the NFL in 1999, the franchise has fielded 40 different starting quarterbacks.
As Kevin Stefanski’s squad approaches this upcoming go‑round, it has five signal-callers, though Deshaun Watson is highly doubtful to see the field as he recovers from an Achilles injury.
Woody believes Stefanski should figure out what he has in rookies Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel rather than waste time on veteran imports Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett.
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“If I’m Kevin Stefanski, my focus would be on the two drafted players,” Woody said Thursday on “NFL Live.” “We know what Joe Flacco is, and we know what Kenny Pickett is. We know in 2026 they have two first‑round picks, so I think, for the Cleveland Browns, the priority should be trying to find out if one of these two rookie quarterbacks could be your long‑term solution.
“Kevin Stefanski is one of the best play‑callers in the National Football League, and so I think both these guys will have a great opportunity to really try to establish themselves this year and this year only.”
Rather than opt for a signal‑caller with the No. 2 overall pick in last weekend’s 2025 NFL draft, general manager Andrew Berry traded back and took Michigan defensive tackle Mason Graham three slots later. Cleveland scooped up Gabriel, who played at UCF, Oklahoma and Oregon, in the third round. Sanders fell into the Browns’ lap two rounds later despite having been projected to be taken much earlier.
Before adding Sanders and Gabriel, Cleveland traded for Pickett, a former Pittsburgh Steelers first‑round pick, and reunited with Flacco through free agency. The latter won the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year award in 2023, passing for more than 300 yards in four consecutive victories and helping the Browns to the postseason. Flacco folded on the road against Houston in the playoffs, however.
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If neither Gabriel nor Sanders pans out as Cleveland’s franchise quarterback, next year’s draft figures to provide a wealth of options. The passers that could be available include Texas’ Arch Manning, Clemson’s Cade Klubnik, LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier, Penn State’s Drew Allar, Baylor’s Sawyer Robertson and South Carolina’s LaNorris Sellers.
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