A Wild Draft Provides Glimpses of Hope

A Wild Draft Provides Glimpses of Hope

Over the past couple of decades, Browns fans have seen some crazy drafts. But this one might take the prize. Several trades, controversial selections, taking two positions twice with their seven picks, and taking a QB prospect in the fifth round after he had a historic fall and was once considered a top 5 pick. Craziness.

However, after things are all said and done, the Browns added a lot of talent and filled a lot of holes:

Round 1: DT Mason Graham (Boring, but strong pick)

Round 2: LB Carson Schwesinger (No problem with this pick)

Round 2: RB Quinshon Judkins (Love this pick and had him ranked over Henderson)

Round 3: TE Harold Fannin Jr. (Love this pick as well)

Round 3: QB Dillon Gabriel (No problem with this pick)

Round 4: RB Dylan Sampson (Like this pick)

Round 5: QB Shedeur Sanders (Historically good risk/reward pick)

The defense got a lot better in the trenches with Graham and Schwesinger, and the offense improved meaningfully with Judkins, Sampson, and Fannin, giving Stefanski some real weapons who are a strong fit for the scheme.

And of course, they did this while adding an extraordinarily valuable first-round pick from Jacksonville in the 2026 Draft.

Okay. Now let’s discuss everyone’s favorite topic — the QB position.

Clearly, the Browns, like many other NFL teams, did not necessarily want to bring Shedeur into their franchise. Who knows the exact reasons why, but likely, they had concerns about his maturity and professionalism. My guess is that they saw similarities between him and Baker Mayfield and simply did not want to go back down the road of having this type of personality in the QB room.

With all of these reasons in mind, and a seeming infatuation with Dillon Gabriel — his accuracy, experience, and off-the-field makeup — he was their guy, and they took him in the third round. Sure, this was objectively early, but if they are this excited about him, I am totally fine with them using a third-round selection on him. Clearly, they did not think that Sanders would make it to maybe the fourth or even the fifth round, and they viewed their QB room as complete for the 2025 season with Flacco, Pickett, and Gabriel — which I honestly kind of liked. You had the vet with proven success in this system, a talented former first-round pick who hasn’t put it together yet, and a third-round rookie who is very accurate and a fit for the system.

Additionally, if neither of these three — or really more Pickett and Gabriel — do not work out in ‘25, you are armed with two first-rounders — and likely one of them being a top-10 pick — to go get a more clear-cut first-round QB in a stronger draft class in 2026.

But then, as Saturday afternoon kept on melting away, Shedeur Sanders was still sitting there in the fifth — yes, the fifth — round. At this point, the risk/reward profile had totally changed, and the Browns were 100% correct in taking a flyer on Shedeur. A top-5 pick should be a statement — a franchise-altering pick symbolic of your team’s culture and what you want a leader on the team to look like. A fifth-rounder does not have this same weight.

Additionally, it is important to recognize it’s not like Shedeur is a “bad” kid — if anything, it seems like he is just the opposite — a great kid with a “different” way of carrying himself.

What is also important to recognize is that this process must have been extraordinarily humbling and difficult for Shedeur. I would be shocked if he doesn’t come into Berea more focused, even more energized, and channeling this into working hard on and off the field.

Cleveland — this is the best your short- and long-term QB prospects have looked in quite a while.

Andrew Berry had a phenomenal Day 2 and 3 of the Draft, and we officially have hope.

- Cleveland Sports Daily