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Browns Linked To Top Qb Prospect In 2026 Draft

Bonisiwe Shabane
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browns linked to top qb prospect in 2026 draft

It’s not too soon for the Cleveland Browns to be thinking about their options in the 2026 NFL Draft. Tied to that, it’s also never too soon for them to be considering how to fix their quarterback situation. Analyst Matt Wilson recently linked the Browns to a surprising QB prospect. “USC QB Jayden Maiava would look great in a Cleveland Browns uniform,” Wilson wrote on X. USC QB Jayden Maiava would look GREAT in a Cleveland #Browns uniform. 👀 #DawgPound #NFLDraft2026 pic.twitter.com/LziFEUkgWK

— Matt Wilson (@CoachWilson66) November 7, 2025 The Cleveland Browns lost in humiliating fashion to the New York Jets. The Browns shut down the Jets for the majority of the game. Unfortunately, the Jets scored on three explosive plays. The score would be too much for the Browns to handle. The team now has the inside track on the second pick in the 2026 NFL draft.

The Browns must find a way to pick in the top two selections. The Browns need to find a quarterback in next year’s draft class. The class is fraying, as quarterbacks Dante Moore of Oregon, Fernando Mendoza of Indiana, and Ty Simpson of Alabama will all decide whether to enter the NFL draft or return to college. If the Browns don’t have a top-three pick, then they have a real shot of losing one of these quarterbacks. In the latest 2026 NFL mock draft, the Browns address the quarterback situation while rebuilding their trenches and increasing their talent in the receiving room. The Browns are set up for eight picks inside the first five rounds.

The team will have many opportunities to shore up their weak position groups over draft weekend. Fernando Mendoza was the first quarterback I mocked to the Browns before the season started. With more than a month left in his junior season, Mendoza is the Heisman award favorite. Mendoza has thrown for 2,342 yards, 26 touchdowns, and five interceptions on 181 completions and 254 attempts. Mendoza turned heads when he turned down top paydays to join the Hoosiers. Mendoza strongly believed that head coach Curt Cignetti knows how to develop NFL quarterbacks.

That’s proven to be the case as Mendoza is in the consensus top-three picks in the draft. There's a misconception floating around about the 2026 NFL Draft. Before this college season kicked off, Texas' Arch Manning, South Carolina's LaNorris Sellers and LSU's Garrett Nussmeier were widely viewed as the top eligible quarterback prospects. Those three haven't quite met the early expectations, which has some people jumping to the conclusion that this is a "weak" QB class. In reality, the rise of Indiana's Fernando Mendoza (my QB1 back in May), Alabama's Ty Simpson and Oregon's Dante Moore has reshaped the board. All three still have remaining eligibility and could theoretically return to school in 2026, but in today's thought exercise, they come off the board quickly -- just not at No.

1 overall. Four teams enter the first round with multiple picks, while just as many have none. The Browns and Rams dealt away theirs in separate draft-day moves a year ago, and the Jets and Cowboys moved on from Quinnen Williams and Micah Parsons, respectively. To set the stage, here are the current odds to be the No. 1 overall pick (via FanDuel Sportsbook). Reminder: This is the current NFL draft order after Week 10 (via Tankathon).

The Cleveland Browns have a tough task ahead in the weeks before the 2025 season kicks off: naming their starting quarterback. And even if that decision is made with extreme care, there’s no guarantee the team won’t look for its quarterback of the future in the 2026 draft. If the team underperforms this season and ends up with a high pick next year, it’s hard to imagine they wouldn’t use it on a quarterback. Here’s a look at who could fall into the Browns’ lap in the 2026 NFL Draft. The Browns have spent years cycling through quarterbacks, hoping to find their championship answer. The Deshaun Watson experiment, which began with promise in 2022, failed to deliver.

Before Watson, Baker Mayfield was selected first overall in 2018, but after failing to make the immediate impact Cleveland needed, he was traded and has since found success with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Meanwhile, Cleveland enters this season with four underwhelming quarterback options, and the outlook remains uncertain. This situation has analysts projecting significant changes ahead, including the possibility of the Browns landing the top pick in the 2026 draft. PFSN projected the Browns to land the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 draft, which would give them their choice of prospects. Their projected selection would be Arch Manning, the Texas quarterback who now carries the starting role following Quinn Ewers’ departure from the program.

The Cleveland Browns enter the 2025 season with one of the more polarizing quarterback situations in the NFL, with the likes of Kenny Pickett, Joe Flacco, Dillon Gabriel, and Shedeur Sanders fighting for the... 1 spot. However, a new signal-caller seems bound to call Cleveland home in 2026. Jacob Infante of PFSN agrees. In his recent seven-round mock draft, Infante has the Browns selecting Texas quarterback Arch Manning with the No. 1 overall pick.

"There’s no guarantee that Arch Manning will declare for the 2026 NFL Draft," Infante writes. "He’s a massive unknown at this stage, having only started in two games. But he has an impressive arm, makes smart decisions in the pocket, reads the field well, and offers better athleticism than either of his famous uncles, Peyton and Eli. Although the Cleveland Browns drafted Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders in 2025, neither came with the kind of draft capital that typically signals a long-term commitment. If Cleveland finishes with the league’s worst record, they’d be smart to take a swing at a true franchise QB." Manning hasn't played a ton of college football, which has led many to believe he won't declare for the draft in 2026 and will stay another year at Texas.

However, should he come out, there will be plenty of Browns fans that beg for Cleveland to take him. Be sure to bookmark Cleveland Browns on The Sporting News for all the latest news, interviews, breakdowns, and more! BEREA, Ohio — The Browns passed on arguably the best prospect in this class when they traded down and away from Travis Hunter, but they set themselves up perfectly for a quarterback in next... In trading down from No. 2 to No. 5 with the Jaguars, the Browns also acquired:

Football Insider newsletter free trial: Take a minute and sign up for a free trial of our Football Insider newsletter, featuring exclusive content from cleveland.com's Browns reporters. Mary Kay Cabot has more than 30 years experience covering the Cleveland Browns for The Plain Dealer and cleveland.com, and became only the second female in Pro Football Hall of Fame history to win... more If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners... The Cleveland Browns, armed with two first-round picks in the 2026 NFL draft, continue to eye their next franchise quarterback.

Many analysts believe Cleveland still hasn’t solved its most pressing need at the position. One name generating significant buzz is Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning. The third-generation Manning brings both exceptional talent and an unmistakable football pedigree to the table. ESPN’s Field Yates recently placed Manning atop his latest mock draft projection, sending him to Cleveland with the projected top overall selection. “In my mock last week, Arch Manning went No. 1 overall to the Cleveland Browns—an order determined by the football power index here at ESPN.

It’s pretty simple; he’s made two starts in his career. He’s got under a hundred passing attempts. He has not yet been a starter in a game in which it was a true, tested opponent. The ceiling is tremendous here for Arch Manning. It’s a massive, massive year to prove that he is going to belong in that No. 1 pick consideration,” Yates said on Get Up.

As fanbases throughout the NFL await to see how the 2025 NFL Draft class plays out, the 2026 NFL Draft class is now on the clock. It may be way, way too early to be talking about next year’s draft, but it’s never too early to start evaluating the top prospects who are set to position themselves on the big... One of those prospects is a quarterback who decided to return to school in 2025. That is Penn State QB Drew Allar who may have been at least a Day 2 pick in this year’s draft. As one of the top projected quarterbacks entering the 2026 NFL Draft as of mid-Spring, one way, way too early NFL Mock draft has the Nittany Lions gunslinger as the savior at QB in... That is if Kenny Pickett, Dillon Gabriel or Shedeur Sanders can’t establish themselves as the solving piece of the Brown’s QB puzzle.

Deshaun Watson and Joe Flacco are also pieces of that logjam, but neither of those two quarterbacks will be expected to be a part of the team come 2026. With Watson likely unavailable for at least most of the season, it leaves an interesting battle between Sanders, Gabriel and Pickett. The hope is that one of those young QBs can bring some hope to Cleveland. If not, then there is a QB like Allar who could be that hope.

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