The April 24 NFL draft is going to be a wonky one as it pertains to quarterbacks. There's a clear cut favorite to land, at least, first overall to the Tennessee Titans. And, if he falls, then he'll be the first quarterback taken overall out of the several in the process.
That player is, of course, Cam Ward. The Miami Hurricanes signal-caller has skyrocketed up big boards in recent weeks, and he will be the first quarterback taken off the board by one of the many quarterback-needy teams in this year's draft.
But, what if the Cleveland Browns cannot land Ward? It's become an increasing likelihood that they'll lose out on him to either the Titans or New York Giants, who might have interest in trading up to snag him at No. 1 overall to bring him to East Rutherford.
That leaves the Browns with a few other options on the board at quarterback - but not many. And, according to one NFL analysts' tier system that names Tier 1, 2, and 3 quarterback options, it's clear that Cleveland only has three real options in the draft to consider.
Chris Simms' latest QB tiers shows Browns have limited options in draft
NBC Sports' NFL analyst Chris Simms has released his latest quarterback tiers ahead of the NFL draft, and they offer a pretty bleak picture as to what the Browns' options are in the draft.
Draft QB Ranks are out and podcast is up
— Chris Simms (@CSimmsQB) March 17, 2025
Clear cut #1 pic.twitter.com/ISbDvTJSV5
Ward, as mentioned, will be going first off the board. But, this list only has two quarterbacks in the tier 2 category: Shedeur Sanders and Jaxson Dart. Sanders makes the most sense to be taken by the Browns given that he's projected to, at least, land in the first round. But, Dart is seen as more of a 2nd round sleeper pick for any team that needs a quarterback to develop.
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Kyle McCord out of Syracuse University and Quinn Ewers from Texas are the only quarterbacks in tier 3 for Simms, which means that potential Browns target Jalen Milroe has been left out of Simms' categorization entirely.
Cleveland should only be looking to take a quarterback from this class if they have genuine potential to develop into a starter. That leaves Ward, Sanders, and Dart as the only true options for them based on Simms' tiers. Other than a veteran quarterback signing, they should be the only three signal callers the Browns are considering headed into the draft.