The Cleveland Browns seem extremely likely to draft a quarterback

The Cleveland Browns may have found their franchise quarterback, but it seems more and more likely they will select a quarterback in the 2019 NFL Draft.

It is not often the Cleveland Browns head into a draft process and do not need to scout all of the quarterbacks available. But after selecting Baker Mayfield in last year’s draft, Cleveland is no longer in need of finding their franchise quarterback.

But as the 2019 NFL Draft creeps closer, it seems the Browns will be drafting a quarterback at some point in the draft to fill out their depth chart.

Currently, the only quarterback behind Mayfield on the depth chart is Drew Stanton, who did not play in a game last season. Despite his lack of playing time, Browns general manager John Dorsey stated his confidence in Stanton earlier in the off-season – via Scott Patsko of Cleveland.com.

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"“I think Drew Stanton has started 16 games over the course of his career and I think he’s 10-6 within that so I think he’s very capable of coming in and playing that number two role.”"

With the first wave of free agency over, it became obvious the Browns truly believe in Stanton as the backup quarterback. There were several solid backup quarterbacks available in free agency, but the Browns decided to stand pat with Stanton as the No. 2 quarterback.

One reason the Browns may have decided to not add a quarterback in free agency is to preserve as much cap space as they can. Although the Browns have over $30 million in cap space remaining, the team may want to rollover as much of their cap space into the next season as possible.

One way the Browns can address the quarterback position but still maintain their cap space is to draft a quarterback in the later rounds of the draft. And by the way the off-season has progressed, it seems like the most likely approach Dorsey will take.

Dorsey comes from the Ron Wolf tree of building a team. Cleveland also has Wolf’s son, Eliot, working as the organization’s assistant general manager. One of the philosophies of the elder Wolf was to draft a quarterback every year. Since the Browns currently have eight picks in the 2019 NFL Draft, they have plenty of ammunition to add a quarterback at some point.

One quarterback who stands out in the later rounds of the draft is Washington State’s Gardner Minshew. He may not have elite arm talent, but he excelled in college because of his accuracy and anticipation. However, he also does not have the prototypical size teams want from a quarterback.

Even though he does not have a laser for an arm, Minshew could develop into a solid backup because of his ability to read and progress through a defense as well as being able to deliver accurate balls.

With Stanton on the final year of his deal, the Browns may need another backup quarterback in 2020 if they decide to not re-sign Stanton. So if the Browns draft Minshew or another quarterback in the later rounds of the draft, they could work with that player to have him be Mayfield’s future backup.

The Browns may not be looking to draft one of the high-profile quarterbacks in the draft, but they should be looking to draft another signal-caller. It will be different for the Browns as they will be looking for a quarterback to supplement their franchise quarterback instead of trying to find the future leader of their franchise.