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The Cleveland Browns were suspected leading up to the 2025 NFL draft that they would be selecting a quarterback. By the end of draft weekend, the Browns have five quarterbacks, with perhaps the most shocking of those being Colorado's Shedeur Sanders.
That wasn't the Browns’ original draft plans, according to CBS Sports' Shanna McCarriston, who reported that general manager Andrew Berry said they “made the right choice.”
“Shedeur, we talk often about quarterback being the most important position in the sport,” Berry said. “We felt like it wasn't necessarily the plan going into the weekend to select two quarterbacks, but we do believe in best player available, we do believe in positional value, and we didn’t necessarily expect him to be available in the fifth round.”
Originally sitting with the No. 2 overall pick, and projected to draft Sanders, the Browns moved back, trading with the Jacksonville Jaguars, who selected Sanders’ teammate, Travis Hunter. Meanwhile, Cleveland moved back to the fifth pick, selecting Michigan defensive tackle Mason Graham.
“He was a good, solid prospect at the most important position,” Berry continued, saying of Sanders. “We felt like it got to a point where he was probably mispriced relative to the draft. The acquisition cost was pretty light, and it’s a guy that we think can outproduce his draft slot. So I wouldn’t say it’s any more than that. ... I may hesitate to characterize it as a blockbuster — that’s not necessarily how we thought of the transaction — but we are excited to work with him.”
Sanders became the Browns’ final selection at No. 144 in the fifth round, which cost him millions, while even watching Oregon QB Dillon Gabriel selected before him in the third round at No. 94.
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According to ESPN’s Daniel Oyefusi, Gabriel was being secretly courted by the Browns leading up to the draft, meeting with the Oregon quarterback on multiple occasions.
“Gabriel was in a group of top prospects the team hosted on top 30 visits in early March. The cohort included Sanders, but Gabriel’s inclusion was not reported at the time — the team website only named Sanders, Penn State edge Abdul Carter and Colorado receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter — and went under the radar. Cleveland’s top decision-makers also traveled to Eugene, Oregon, for a private workout with Gabriel and got an up-close look at him during the Senior Bowl, as multiple Cleveland coaches participated in the all-star event. Berry and Stefanski were also in Mobile, Alabama, for the Senior Bowl,” Oyefusi wrote.
The Athletic's Dane Brugler said back before the draft that he believed Sanders “wasn’t a top five guy,” saying he could have been a top 50 pick with Gabriel’s intangibles.
“He’s more of a late one, early two — like, that’s what the talent says,” Brugler stated. “If Shedeur Sanders had Dillon Gabriel’s intangibles, I 100 percent would believe he would have been drafted somewhere in the top 50 picks.”
The Browns now have to decide between three veterans — Deshaun Watson, Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett — or their two rookies to make up their quarterback room.
Watson appears to be on borrowed time in Cleveland and most likely might not even see the field after retearing his Achilles this offseason. Flacco and Pickett joined the team this offseason, with Pickett traded over from the Eagles. That still puts the battle between Sanders and Gabriel as the most interesting entering the season.
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