After pulling off a blockbuster trade barely 15 minutes into the 2025 NFL Draft, the Cleveland Browns pieced together a seven player class that would go on to rival any of the league's other 31 teams.
Cleveland crushed six of those seven draft picks, starting with defensive tackle Mason Graham at No. 5 overall, and linebacker Carson Schwesinger, the likely Defensive Rookie of the Year, at No. 33. The Browns then turned their attention to the offensive side of the ball, landing a pair of instant Day 2 starters in running back Quinshon Judkins and tight end Harold Fannin Jr.
Their Day 3 additions of running back Dylan Sampson and QB Shedeur Sanders were just the icing on the cake.
No draft class is perfect, of course, and Berry does have one top-100 selection from 2025 that he’d love to have back. Quarterback Dillon Gabriel, Cleveland’s late third-round pick, lost the battle to Sanders during the 2025 regular season, and his prospects for 2026 are now in serious doubt.
The Browns’ quarterback runway just shifted after Dante Moore’s decision to stay at Oregon
Cleveland’s search for its next head coach forged on this week, and whomever lands the job figures to have a say on who stays, who goes, and who gets added to the roster this offseason — especially for an offense in dire need of repair.
The quarterback position? The biggest changes to that room likely aren’t coming until 2027, according to Zac Jackson of The Athletic.
“Early signs point to Sanders getting to compete for the job, (Deshaun) Watson being stuck on the roster and another quarterback addition in the middle rounds of the draft.
There is a world in which the Browns either trade for Mac Jones, who has one year left on his deal, or package picks to move up in this draft. But, at least here in the first half of January, we’re viewing those options as less likely than a plan that includes giving Sanders a shot, giving another developmental rookie (or cast-off) a chance to eventually play and gearing up for a full-throttle chase in early 2027.”
Sanders certainly helped his cause by winning his final two starts of 2025. Cleveland will select No. 6 overall in the 2026 draft as a result, and unless it plans to aggressively trade up the board this time for Fernando Mendoza, a first-round quarterback shouldn’t be in the cards; Dante Moore's shocking decision to return to Oregon this year only hammers that home further.
Browns fans should know what’s coming on the Deshaun Watson front. Yes, the team can cut ties in 2026, pay the price (over $80 million this year and more in 2027), and be done with the worst trade and contract in franchise history; but his contract situation screams for a simple restructure this year, which would clear around $34M in much-needed cap space and kick the can down the road to 2027, the year that's represented the most likely finish line all along.
To Jackson, that leaves a clear odd-man out in Gabriel, whose rookie-scale contract is actually suitable for a potential third-string QB role. But his lack of size was evident over his six starts this season, and the team’s lack of explosiveness with him under center impossible to shake, especially when evaluated side-by-side with Sanders.
Adding competition to the QB room this offseason should be a priority for the Browns, either in free agency or the draft. But Gabriel looks as good as gone in 2026, and Sanders' chances of competing for — and winning — the QB1 job just went up considerably with Moore's decision to stay in school.