The Cleveland Browns were the talk of the 2025 NFL Draft after finally stopping the Shedeur Sanders slide and making him the 144th pick in the fifth round. Before the Browns took Sanders, they selected another quarterback, Oregon's Dillon Gabriel, further complicating the situation.
The quarterback room now consists of Sanders, Gabriel, veteran Joe Flacco, and former Steelers first-rounder Kenny Pickett. What a group (and I didn't even mention Deshaun Watson).
Even with all of the options the Browns have to choose from to start at quarterback this year, Brent Sobleski of Bleacher Report thinks they should already be looking past this year and at the quarterbacks in next year's draft, namely Arch Manning.
"Yeah, it's easy to see this entire situation implode. The Browns could well be restarting in 2026 with a significant investment in a top-shelf QB prospect, especially after acquiring an extra first-round pick as part of the Travis Hunter trade-down to ensure they hold significant leverage."
Browns could punt on Shedeur Sanders experiment if Arch Manning is an option
There are a few factors to consider with the whole Arch Manning thing. First and foremost, the Manning family is notorious for staying in school all four years. Peyton did it at Tennessee and Eli did it at Ole Miss despite both of them being the top pick in the draft had they declared as juniors.
Secondly, NIL makes staying an extra year worth it as players can still earn money and aren't leaving school specifically so they can get paid. Arch wouldn't need the financial stability of the NFL if he's making bank in NIL at Texas.
Another point to keep in mind is that Arch Manning has not been the starter at Texas during his two years there. He'll finally get that nod this year so if he did enter the 2026 draft, it'd be with just one year of starting experience under his belt. We've seen a number of players go number one overall with only one year of starting experience but the more film teams have to work with, the happier they'll be.
The Browns could very well end up with a high draft pick in next year's draft, plus they own the Jaguars' first-round pick. If they end up in the top spot and Arch Manning is in the draft, he's as good as theirs.
Had Sanders been a first-round pick as he'd been projected as, perhaps moving on from him after a year would be more shocking. Considering he's a fifth-rounder though, if the Browns have a chance to nab a Manning as their next quarterback, they wouldn't think twice.