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Browns Predicted To Land Underrated Qb Prospect In 2026 Draft

Bonisiwe Shabane
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browns predicted to land underrated qb prospect in 2026 draft

As the 2025 NFL season reaches Week 9, the Cleveland Browns find themselves at the bottom of the AFC North standings. While the Browns have remained competitive in most games, their effort has not translated into enough wins to stay in the playoff hunt. With postseason hopes fading, Cleveland’s focus should begin shifting toward the 2026 campaign, a year that promises renewed opportunity and added draft capital to reshape the roster through the upcoming 2026 NFL Draft. The Browns have several needs on the offensive end, but the most glaring one is at the quarterback position. Dillon Gabriel hasn’t shown enough so far to be considered the long-term solution, and while Shedeur Sanders has yet to play, it seems the coaching staff has hesitation about putting him out there. 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. 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 handed Dillon Gabriel the keys to the franchise earlier this season, but so far, that move hasn’t resulted in much success.

After a 1-4 start to his career, questions and concerns about Gabriel are raging throughout the Browns fanbase. Many analysts and fans aren’t holding back... The Cleveland Browns lost a crucial player early in the season. Left tackle Dawand Jones couldn’t even make it to the midway point of the campaign, sustaining yet another season-ending injury. He had shown promise, but he’s looking at a long way back, and Jones recently revealed his potential... Shedeur Sanders hasn’t received his chance to play starting quarterback for the Cleveland Browns, and there are many fans and analysts confused and angry about that.

Despite the pushback, there is a chance that head coach Kevin Stefanski and his staff won’t change their approach soon. But Cam... Cleveland Browns legend Bernie Kosar is having a serious health crisis, and he is keeping fans updated on every step of the process. Earlier this week, he released a video from his hospital bed and then provided another one just a few days later. A few days ago, Kosar told... To say that the Cleveland Browns have gotten off to a disappointing start to the season would be a huge understatement.

However, there should still be time to turn things around and at least come closer to playoff contention. However, Ali Bhanpuri of NFL.com doesn’t see that happening right now.... 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 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 Browns would need a big-time potential No. 1 to go with their new franchise QB (in this case, Simpson) and Tate has come out of the shadow of 2027 No. 1 overall pick candidate Jeremiah Smith to dominate in his own right for the Buckeyes," Iyer writes. 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 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... "The Browns would need a big-time potential No. 1 to go with their new franchise QB (in this case, Simpson) and Tate has come out of the shadow of 2027 No. 1 overall pick candidate Jeremiah Smith to dominate in his own right for the Buckeyes," Iyer writes. After a flurry of trade deadline moves shook up the NFL landscape, a few fan bases are ready to shift their focus to mock draft season with hopes of landing a new franchise quarterback. The Cleveland Browns are one of those teams, as they still have big questions with Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders not doing a lot to inspire confidence for the future.

With two first-round picks in the 2026 NFL Draft, the Browns are prime candidates to select a quarterback, and analyst Mel Kiper Jr. recently predicted which one they will choose. With the projected No.6 pick in the draft, Kiper Jr. predicted that the Browns would draft Oregon QB Dante Moore. “The Cleveland Browns, in a division with [Joe] Burrow and Lamar [Jackson], they’ve gotta get it right. You’ve gotta get the quarterback.

I gotta go Dante Moore here,” Kiper said. Pro Football and Sports Network covers all the major professional sports, including the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, Tennis, WNBA, NASCAR, and more. The Cleveland Browns face mounting pressure to address their quarterback situation after an 0-2 start has exposed persistent concerns about the position. Veteran Joe Flacco remains the starter while rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders continue developing, but long-term stability questions persist throughout the organization. Fans and analysts increasingly demand clarity on the franchise’s direction at the position, with many expecting significant moves ahead of the 2026 NFL Draft. Browns insider Mary Kay Cabot recently addressed whether Cleveland will target a quarterback in next year’s draft during an appearance on 92.3 The Fan.

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