Once again, the Cleveland Browns' quarterback situation is dominating the narrative around the team. Watching Deshaun Watson beat out Shedeur Sanders for the starting job spoke volumes about the state of the room, and it's become painfully evident that their guy may not be on their current roster.
With a somewhat underwhelming free agent class on tap, all eyes are set on the stars of the future. The Browns hold two first-round picks in what's projected to be a promising and deep 2027 quarterback class.
Week 2 of the college football season will give them a glimpse of two potential targets.
The No. 4 Texas Longhorns will host the No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes in one of the most anticipated rematches in recent years. Again, Arch Manning and Julian Sayin will go toe-to-toe to try and boost their respective draft stocks — and Browns general manager Andrew Berry better be there.
The Browns' quarterback of the future is still in college
Manning entered the 2025 season as the most hyped prospect in college football. He got off to a slow start before picking things up in the second half of the year, but his first start against the Buckeyes left plenty to be desired.
Sayin wasn't necessarily much better in the win, and while he doesn't have Manning's pedigree and privileged DNA pool, he was the more consistent of the two throughout the season. He's already a short drive away from Berea, so there's that.
The Browns could be a quarterback away from becoming serious playoff contenders in 2027. They've completely overhauled their roster over the past two years and are loaded with young playmakers on both sides of the ball.
The Myles Garrett trade gave Berry and company another shot at potentially landing the next guy. They should have enough assets and flexibility to move up the board and get one of the top quarterbacks on their board.
Some argue that the Mannings would never let Arch play for the Browns, even more so after the family blocked a potential draft-day trade that would've landed them Eli Manning. That's fair to a degree, but team owner Jimmy Haslam is actually pretty close to that family.
As for Sayin, Ohio State quarterbacks haven't always panned out in the pros. But he already has plenty of fans in the building, and he might be an easier target to pursue if the Manning hype doesn't go away closer to draft night.
This won't just be a developmental season in Cleveland. The Browns genuinely believe they can compete at a high level.
But regardless of how things fare, there might be a strong chance that their next signal-caller will be playing in Saturday's high-flying matchup at Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin.
We know we'll be tuning in.
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