Browns Predicted To Draft Another Quarterback With No 1 Pick In 2026

Bonisiwe Shabane

-Nov 15, 2025, 1:42 PM

browns predicted to draft another quarterback with no 1 pick in 2026

The quarterback depth chart for the Cleveland Browns has changed drastically over the past year. Heading into 2024, Deshaun Watson was the main plan. Now, it appears the Browns want anyone but Watson helming the team going forward. Any one of Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, Dillon Gabriel, and Shedeur Sanders could emerge with the starting role in 2025. However, someone new entirely could win the job in 2026. At least, that is what two analysts appear to agree on.

Writing in a PFSN 2026 mock draft on May 24 and a CFN mock draft on May 25, analysts Jacob Infante and Max Dorsey both projected the Browns to emerge with Clemson Tigers quarterback... “Cade Klubnik made huge strides in 2024,” Infante wrote. “He’s an accurate passer with good poise in the pocket and underrated mobility. His consistency, rhythm, and decision-making all give him a high floor and project him as a potential long-term starter in the league.” Routinely plays from a balanced base/platform. Can see, read, and react with repeatable mechanics.

Good enough athlete to break contain and create outside of structure. pic.twitter.com/rdCkhdx8zY Tell me if you've heard this one before: the Cleveland Browns have a quarterback problem. Cleveland drafted two quarterbacks in Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders in 2026, but Gabriel has not been good so far and we still have no clue what Sanders is, although him being a fifth-round... Deshaun Watson is still lurking in the shadows as he continues to recover from a torn Achilles, but we already know he stinks and the Browns probably hope he never sees another snap in... If the Browns get through the rest of this season and find out neither Gabriel nor Sanders are the answer, they could spend their early first-round pick on another quarterback.

Ayrton Ostly of USA TODAY believes that's exactly the approach the Browns will take, as he predicted Cleveland will draft Fernando Mendoza with the No. 4 draft selection in 2026. 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). Browns predicted to draft elite QB-WR duo in new 2026 NFL mock draft originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here. The Cleveland Browns are 2-6 entering Week 10, meaning Browns fans are already in mock draft mode hoping the Browns can find a franchise quarterback, as well as centerpieces on offense to put around... With that in mind, Cleveland has two first-round picks in next year's draft, and Vinnie Iyer has them taking full advantage of that, starting by selecting Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson. "Simpson is a strong-armed and accurate pocket passer with the dash of athleticism to remind some of Joe Burrow," Iyer writes.

"He could handle playing in the weather of Cleveland and provide a lot of hope to break their continuing curse, a second shot at a Baker Mayfield type." In addition to Simpson, Iyer has Cleveland taking a top receiver to go along with their new quarterback, taking Ohio State wideout Carnell Tate. The Cleveland Browns are back in quarterback-hunting mode ahead of the 2026 NFL Draft. While the franchise has become a revolving door for QBs in recent years, none have managed to cement themselves as the long-term answer. With no true face of the franchise under center, the pressure is mounting. So, Who will finally break the cycle and become ‘the guy’ in Cleveland?

Despite taking two quarterbacks in the 2025 draft, our colleagues at PFSN believe they’ll be in the market again. Some might argue that Joe Flacco, a former Super Bowl MVP, deserves a shot at becoming the Browns’ long-term answer. But at 40, Father Time is catching up fast for Flacco. Instead of banking on aging experience, Cleveland’s interest might shift toward current Penn State QB Drew Allar. But with a fresh wave of young talent set to enter the league, the buzz hasn’t faded. The 2026 NFL Mock Draft is already out, and it’s turning heads this early.

Drew Allar’s mechanics look DIFFERENT heading into his final season. The Cleveland Browns have perhaps the most intriguing quarterback depth chart in the NFL heading into the 2025 season. With Deshaun Watson expected to miss the entire 2025 campaign after re-rupturing his Achilles back in January, Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, Dillon Gabriel, and Shedeur Sanders will all be competing for the starting job... With both Gabriel and Sanders being rookies, it looks like Flacco and Pickett have the inside track over them, but you never know what will happen in the NFL (after all, they weren’t expected... And even with a pair of rookies in town, that may not necessarily prevent Cleveland from dipping back into the well when the 2026 NFL Draft rolls around, as they have been predicted to... Many folks believed the Browns may have lucked themselves into their quarterback of the future when they managed to scoop up Sanders, who was widely expected to be a first-round pick, in the fifth...

However, there’s no guarantee he pans out, and with Cleveland expected to be one of the worst teams in the league in 2025, they could end up with another high draft pick in 2026. If that ends up happening, and the Browns don’t feel confident in either Gabriel, Sanders, or even Pickett, who was a first-round pick back in 2022, they could select another quarterback. As of right now, the top quarterback in the 2026 draft class is largely unknown, as it will depend on how Arch Manning plays for the Texas Longhorns in his first year as a... In the event Manning decides to go pro, he could very well be an option for the Browns in the 2026 draft. But in the event he doesn’t, it looks like Clemson Tigers quarterback Cade Klubnik will be the top quarterback in this draft class. With that in mind, Jacob Infante of Pro Football Network recently predicted that Cleveland will select Klubnik with the No.

1 overall pick in the 2026 draft. The Browns haven't even started their 2025 NFL season yet, and already they're mocked to take a quarterback with the projected No. 1 pick next April. After a hectic offseason that saw Joe Flacco win the starting quarterback job over Kenny Pickett, Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel, the Browns still don't feel like a playoff contender and could be right... If Cleveland earns the No. 1 pick in the 2026 draft, ESPN's Field Yates has the team taking a surprising name to finally get their quarterback of the future: Arch Manning.

Yes, Archie Manning recently stated that his grandson will stay at Texas for at least two seasons, a belief many in the scouting community share. But ultimately, Arch is eligible to declare in 2026, and if he performs up to his potential, he might just have to consider the NFL leap in this coming draft class. So I'm including him ... for now. He is inexperienced and needs to add more weight to his 6-foot-4 frame, but it's easy to see his immense ceiling. I know the Browns just drafted two passers this year, but if they are picking first overall next year, then yes, they'll be taking a quarterback.

On the other hand, SI's Daniel Flick's 2026 mock draft didn't include Manning at all under the presumption that the young signal-caller wouldn't declare for next year's draft, as his grandfather Archie announced earlier... "Arch isn't going to do that. He'll be at Texas," Archie said, when asked about whether his grandson is planning to enter the 2026 draft. 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.

Browns Predicted To Draft Another Quarterback With No 1 Pick In 2026

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