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Early 2026 Mock Draft Has Browns Landing Franchise Qb But It S

Bonisiwe Shabane
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early 2026 mock draft has browns landing franchise qb but it s

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 Browns used two 2025 draft picks on quarterbacks, Dillon Gabriel in round three and Shedeur Sanders in round five. Despite the two selections, Cleveland might've traded for their franchise quarterback on draft day, even though he isn't on the roster yet. By moving down from number two to five overall in a trade with Jacksonville, the Browns picked up another first-round pick in 2026. The Deshaun Watson era was a huge swing and miss, as acknowledged by ownership, and this was the first offseason where they truly looked for solutions after Watson with his twice-torn Achilles. Unfortunately, the 2025 quarterback class was nothing close to the year prior, and there wasn't anyone enticing enough to take in the top five. That isn't the case next year, however, as the 2026 quarterback class initially looks pretty strong on paper.

In an article by ESPN's Matt Miller, he made an early 2026 NFL mock draft that has the Browns with the number one pick. He has them taking Clemson's Cade Klubnik while comparing him to Baker Mayfield because of his combination of arm strength and mobility. It isn't completely certain who will be available in the 2026 class, but potential names that have been getting buzz include Texas's Arch Manning, Penn State's Drew Allar, South Carolina's LaNorris Sellers, and LSU's... Klubnik is firmly in the mix with this bunch, but most of the hype has gone towards Manning or Allar (Allar mostly because of his ties to Northeast Ohio). With their second first-round pick, Miller projects the Jaguars' pick will be 12th overall. He has the Browns taking offensive tackle Caleb Lomu from Utah, which isn't surprising considering the recent performance of Dawand Jones along with Jack Conklin entering the final year of his deal in 2025.

The 2025 NFL Draft is already one for the books — and the ripple effects of the Cleveland Browns’ selections are set to shape their season and beyond. The franchise raised eyebrows by drafting not one, but two quarterbacks: Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders. As a result, the Browns now have one of the most uncertain and crowded QB rooms in the NFL. Given this chaotic setup, PFSN released an early 2026 mock draft featuring a bold prediction: the Browns selecting yet another quarterback. This projection dives into both the current instability and long-term uncertainty surrounding the position in Cleveland. The Browns’ quarterback situation heading into 2025 can best be described as controlled chaos.

With five quarterbacks currently on the roster — three veterans with starting experience and two rookies — Cleveland is expected to have the most intense preseason QB competition in the league. Joe Flacco stands out as the early favorite, thanks to the late-season success he had with the Browns in 2023. Kenny Pickett was acquired via trade this offseason, while Deshaun Watson seems to be out of the picture for the time being. As for the rookies, their futures remain uncertain. It’s unclear who will make the final 53-man roster and who may end up on the practice squad. 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 currently own the fourth overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft following their loss to the New York Jets, along with the 19th selection courtesy of the Jacksonville Jaguars. In this seven-round mock draft, the team takes a swing at a franchise quarterback and spend their first six picks on offensive players.

We'll be using NFL Mock Draft Database's simulator for this mock, and the rule is that for each selection, a player must be ranked at or below ten spots higher than the pick slot... This is to create some level of intrigue and variety with each selection, but to also add some degree of reality. Simpson's physical traits will be under scrutiny throughout the pre-draft process, as teams try to determine how high of a selection he is truly worth. However, his performance this year his difficult to argue with, as he's displayed excellent efficiency, throwing 21 touchdowns to only one interception. He's not elite in any area, but he's solid in just about all of them. He has enough arm strength to make all the throws, accuracy to fit the ball into NFL windows, solid athletic ability to manuever around within the pocket and to create outside of it, and...

Simpson is a one-year starter, which is certainly concerning, but the fact that he'll end up having a larger sample size to work with due to the College Football Playoff is a positive. He has a great chance this weekend to further solidify his stock, as the Crimson Tide face a top-10 defense in the Oklahoma Sooners. Simpson may not have the natural talent of a typical top QB prospect, but he's played great football this year, and if the Browns aren't picking first overall, they may not have much of... Billing Simpson as "better than nothing" is selling him short - he's a good prospect with an NFL future. Whether or not he's a true top-five prospect remains to be seen. The Browns need the Jaguars to continue losing games, otherwise, picking in the 18-22 range isn't going to land then a top offensive tackle or wide receiver prospect.

With Jordyn Tyson, Carnell Tate, and Makai Lemon off the board, Denzel Boston from Washington is the next man up. Standing 6-foot-4 209 pounds, he towers over the rest of Cleveland's WR room, offering them size they haven't had in a long time. He uses his frame to his advantage, hauling in 18 of 31 contested catches over the past two years. He's got 730 yards and eight scores on 52 grabs this season, including a 153-yard outburst against Illinois. The Cleveland Browns are benefitting from a strong 2025 NFL Draft class with their top rookies delivering both on defense, in the passing game and running the ball. The missing piece is at quarterback.

With the team at 1-2 and coming off an upset win over the mighty Green Bay Packers, the Browns are surviving with Joe Flacco under center, and it appears a matter of time before... If either of those rookies can jumpstart the offense, the 2025 NFL Draft class could go down in history as one of the best for the Browns. Of course, if Sunday’s win was just one of the any given Sunday flukes in the NFL, the Browns could still land a top five pick even with the talent from the rookie class... With two first round picks, potential picks that could land in the top 10, can the Browns land their franchise guy? In his latest mock draft, CBS Sportswriter Mike Renner has the Browns selecting No. 1 overall and the prize quarterback isn’t who you think.

If Arch Manning declares for the 2026 NFL Draft, he is or at least was considered the prize of the draft, but there’s another quarterback turning heads in college football and his name is... 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. There is never a time way too early to talk about the next NFL Draft, even if that draft is about eight months to go. Living up to the absolute roller-coaster ride of the 2025 NFL Draft, especially after a historic slide like Shedeur Sanders’, would be tough, but the 2026 NFL Draft is expected to come with its... At least, ESPN’s latest 2026 NFL Mock Draft does.

What shouldn’t come as a surprise, though, is the Cleveland Browns going out shopping for another QB. Especially when they might have a No. 1 overall pick. ESPN’s Field Yates believes that the Browns will have their eyes set on the most hyped QB of the 2025 college football season if they get the chance of drafting him. And, of course, if he declares for the 2026 NFL Draft. Since Manning is eligible to declare in the 2026 NFL draft, he will always be on top of the scouting personnel and analysts’ lists.

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