The Cleveland Browns have the opportunity to land their quarterback of the future in the upcoming NFL draft, but one analyst believes the team will attend to a more pressing need with the No. 2 overall pick.
The Browns face a murky future at quarterback as they remain financially tethered to Deshaun Watson but will not have his services on the field after he re-aggravated a torn Achilles. Though there has been speculation the Browns could target Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders with their first-round pick, ESPN's Bill Barnwell believes the Browns should instead use their pick to amass more draft capital.
Barnwell predicted the Browns would trade down, gaining more picks to fill holes on their roster.
"After the Deshaun Watson fiasco, though, the Browns are desperately short of significant homegrown talent on rookie deals," Barnwell wrote. "The mass of picks the organization enjoyed from their various trade downs during the tanking years have mostly graduated to second contracts or left the organization."
Barnwell noted that the Browns had no first-round picks between 2022 and 2024 due to the Watson trade, with just one second-round pick during that stretch. The team has holes in the secondary, the wide receiving corps, and the offensive line, he added.
The Browns would stay put if they truly believe Sanders is the quarterback of the future, he wrote, but trading down might be the safer move as there are no surefire picks in the NFL draft.
"Consider the 2020 draft, when the Nos. 2 and 3 overall picks were players who were perceived as elite prospects at their respective positions in edge rusher Chase Young and cornerback Jeff Okudah," Barnwell wrote.
Related: Browns Analyst Sounds Off Shedeur Sanders NFL Draft Rumor
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This story was originally published March 24, 2025 at 7:00 AM.