Two weeks into free agency, and you can count with one hand - one finger, specifically - how many quarterbacks the Cleveland Browns have on their roster.
Even more confusing: the quarterback in question, Kenny Pickett, doesn't exactly scream "veteran bridge quarterback." He might be their starter in 2025, sure, but he'd be a bad option at signal caller for a team that keeps alluding to some grand plans at QB1 for this season. Pickett cannot possibly be that plan.
With several free agent quarterbacks that could've potentially fit the bill for the Browns as short term starters in 2025 off the board, like Justin Fields, Gardner Minshew, and Jacoby Brissett, Cleveland seems primed to have to turn to the draft in order to address the big hole at QB1.
And, in PFF's latest mock draft published ahead of week two of free agency, the Browns do exactly that.
Browns take Shedeur Sanders after Cam Ward is snagged by Giants in PFF mock draft
Knowing just how popular Cam Ward is in this quarterback draft class, the NY Giants trade up with the Tennessee Titans in this mock draft and take the Miami signal caller at first overall. They're just as quarterback needy as Cleveland is, so it makes sense that they'd make a swing trade to land him.
As a result, Sanders falls to the Browns, and they take a swing on him at No. 2 overall.
According to John Kosko, who wrote up the mock draft, Sanders is a great fit for Cleveland because of his experience with leading multiple programs back from the doldrums of college football and into postseason play.
Read more: Browns make bizarre trade for a quarterback in recent mock draft
"Sanders is a poised pocket passer with high-level accuracy and sound decision-making. He led Colorado’s resurgence from a one-win team in 2022 to a playoff contender in 2024. The Browns need someone to lead them back into NFL playoff contention, a leader who has gone through the fire like Sanders," wrote Kosko.
Sanders keeps slipping down big boards because of both Ward's surge up those boards and because he's not one of the more athletic or larger quarterbacks we've seen come out of the draft in recent years. But, there's no doubting his accuracy as Kosko touched on, and his personality - confident, surefooted, and one supported by experience - would be a big addition to the QB room.
Cleveland has yet to hear back about Russell Wilson, one of the veteran quarterbacks they've publicly shown interest in this offseason. And, they've yet to really show any interest in other available free agent signal callers. If they must take a solid quarterback prospect here, Sanders is the right call.