The 2025 NFL Draft is less than two weeks away, and the Browns will add a plethora of new, young talent to their roster.
With 10 total picks in the draft, beginning with No. 2 overall, Cleveland can address different position groups to bring in players with impactful skillsets. One position of need for the Browns is at quarterback, as Deshaun Watson is set to miss a significant portion of the 2025 season as he recovers from a re-ruptured Achilles tendon.
They added depth to the quarterback room on April 11 as they agreed to terms with 17-year veteran Joe Flacco. He joins Kenny Pickett, who the Browns acquired in a trade with the Eagles at the start of free agency on March 12.
Flacco returns to Cleveland after joining the Browns in Week 12 of the 2023 season. He started five consecutive games beginning in Week 13, and during that stretch, the Browns went 4-1 with Flacco at quarterback. His tenure was highlighted by the Week 17 win over the Jets on Thursday Night Football that officially clinched their playoff berth – their first playoff appearance since 2020. While in Cleveland, Flacco completed 123 of 204 passing attempts for 1,616 passing yards and 13 touchdowns during the regular season.
Executive Vice President of Football Operations and General Manager Andrew Berry said at the NFL Annual Meeting that Pickett was a player they had been interested in during the 2024 offseason. Now with the Browns, he will have the chance to compete for the starting quarterback job with Flacco, alongside any additional competition.
"Feel like he's a good decision maker. He does a really good job of protecting the ball," Berry said of Pickett. "He's very mobile and we think that his relative strengths are something that fit well with the offense that we're putting into place for this upcoming year. We do think that there's a pretty credible path for him to continue to improve and take a step forward and I think you've seen that with players that they get into maybe new or sometimes maybe better environments for their particular path and their career."
That additional competition could come in a young rookie quarterback, as well as bring needed depth to the quarterback room for the 2025 season.
With the Browns holding the No. 2 overall pick, draft experts and analysts have considered the idea of using the pick to draft a quarterback high. Numerous names have been tossed around for Cleveland to consider, from Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders, to Jalen Milroe and Jaxson Dart.
They also hold other picks such as No. 33 in the second round, No. 67 and No. 94 in the third round if the Browns go a different direction at No. 2 but still want to take a quarterback. Berry said they don't necessarily have to take a quarterback at No. 2, and they are considering their options for the first-round pick.
NFL Network's Cynthia Frelund highlighted four quarterbacks who could be in the conversation for Cleveland at different spots in the draft. Those four players included Ward, Sanders, Dart and Tyler Shough.
Ward, who played in 38 games during his collegiate career, ended his 2024 season where he completed 305 passes for 4,313 yards and 39 touchdowns and just seven interceptions.
"PFF data shows he had the highest middle-of-the-field accuracy in all of college football last season," Frelund said. "And he ranked seventh in FBS on accuracy on passes attempted in three or more seconds – which shows his ability to work outside of structure and forecasts well for helping avoid taking unnecessary sacks at the NFL level."
Sanders spent the first two seasons of his collegiate career at Jackson State University before finishing his collegiate career at Colorado, starting two seasons for the Buffaloes. In two years, he completed 651 of 907 passing attempts for 7,364 yards, 64 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. Sanders also set an all-time career FBS record with his career completion percentage at 71.8.
"Sanders earned PFF's third-highest accuracy, fourth-best deep passing and fifth-lowest uncatchable ball grade in FBS last season," Frelund said. "Let's talk about that last one specifically because that one helps projects pro results. Looking at eight seasons of data, college quarterbacks who throw a low percentage of uncatchable balls and rate well in turnover avoidance – which Sanders ranked second-best at in this quarterback class despite being under the most pressure – become NFL quarterbacks who have low turnover rates and lead their offenses to score about 2.5 more points per game."
Dart, who spent his freshman year at USC before transferring to Ole Miss for the remaining three seasons of his collegiate career, has played in a total of 45 career games. During his three seasons at Ole Miss, Dart completed 735 of 1,118 passes for 10,617 yards and 72 touchdowns.
"Jaxson Dart also ranks among the best in this class in terms of middle-of-the-field accuracy. On throws between five and 25 yards, his accuracy was the best of this season's quarterback prospects," Frelund said. "Clean pocket results are a good proxy for what the best results a quarterback can be since they happen under ideal circumstances, and Dart had PFF's second-highest grade from a clean pocket in all of FBS last year at Ole Miss. When his first read is open his touch is on point, adjusting to second or third options at the next level will be the question along with passing when off platform especially deep."
Shough bounced around to different collegiate programs over the course of seven seasons, playing at Oregon, Texas Tech and Louisville. During his lone season at Louisville in 2024, Shough completed 244 of 389 passing attempts for 3,195 yards and 23 touchdowns. He also threw six interceptions.
"Shough from Louisville has the ideal height and weight combo many scouts covet at 6-foot-5 and 219 pounds," Frelund said. "While his film doesn't suggest that he's a dual threat quarterback, his 4.64 40-yard dash with a 1.61 second 10-yards split helps add context to the times he did use his legs to avert trouble, and how that scrambling could be an asset in the NFL. He has a quick release along with high velocity readings per Computer Vision and only threw six interceptions last season. Some scouts will point to his age as being a source of concern. He is 25 years old, but no quarterback prospect had a better combine than Shough from the standpoint of raising their stock – and that opinion comes from three head coaches I spoke at separate times since Indianapolis."
NFL Network's Cynthia Frelund analyzes four quarterbacks who could be a fit for the Browns -- Jaxson Dart, Shedeur Sanders, Tyler Shough and Cam Ward.
Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders speaks during a press conference at the NFL football scouting combine Friday, Feb. 28, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Texas Tech quarterback Tyler Shough (12) attempts to throw a pass against Oklahoma during the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Nov. 26, 2022, in Lubbock, Texas. (AP Photo/Justin Rex)
Miami quarterback Cam Ward watches a drill at the NFL football scouting combine in Indianapolis, Saturday, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
American team quarterback Jaxson Dart of Ole Miss (2) runs through drills during practice for the Senior Bowl NCAA college football game, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025, in Mobile, Ala. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)
Oregon's Tyler Shough throws downfield against UCLA during the third quarter of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Nov. 21, 2020, in Eugene, Ore. (AP Photo/Chris Pietsch)
Heisman Trophy finalist Cam Ward, of Miami, stands with the trophy during a college football press conference, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Corey Sipkin)
Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders (2) looks to throw against BYU during the first half of the Alamo Bowl NCAA college football game, Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
National team quarterback Tyler Shough of Louisville (2) runs through drills during practice for the Senior Bowl NCAA college football game, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025, in Mobile, Ala. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)
Miami quarterback Cam Ward (1) walks on the sideline during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Duke, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Mississippi quarterback Jaxson Dart (2), looks for a receiver against Florida during the second half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Gainesville, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)
Miami quarterback Cam Ward (1) looks to pass during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Florida State, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Louisville quarterback Tyler Shough (9) reacts after a touchdown in the first half of an NCAA college football game against Clemson, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024, in Clemson, S.C. (AP Photo/Jacob Kupferman)
Miami quarterback Cam Ward (1) throws during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Syracuse on Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024 in Syracuse, N.Y. (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus)
Mississippi quarterback Jaxson Dart (2) runs the ball during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Georgia on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024, in Oxford, Miss. Mississippi won 28-10. (AP Photo/Randy J. Williams)
Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders gestures after throwing a touchdown pass to wide receiver LaJohntay Wester in the second half of an NCAA college football game against Oklahoma State, Friday, Nov. 29, 2024, in Boulder, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Miami quarterback Cam Ward (1) stands back to pass during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Wake Forest, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Mississippi quarterback Jaxson Dart (2) celebrates with teammates after throwing a touchdown pass to Jordan Watkins (11) against Arkansas during the second half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024, in Fayetteville, Ark. (AP Photo/Michael Woods)
Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders prepares to call a play during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Kansas, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Louisville quarterback Tyler Shough (9) looks to pass during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Notre Dame Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, in South Bend, Ind. (AP Photo/Michael Caterina)
Colorado head coach Deion Sanders, left, talks with quarterback Shedeur Sanders (2) during a timeout in the second half of an NCAA college football game against Central Florida, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)
Louisville quarterback Tyler Shough (9) makes a pass under pressure during the first half of an NCAA football game against the Boston College on Friday, Oct. 25, 2024, in Chestnut Hill, Mass. (AP Photo/Greg M. Cooper)
Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders (2) takes part in passing drills during Colorado's NFL football pro day Friday, April 4, 2025, in Boulder, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Miami quarterback Cam Ward throws the ball during the school's NFL football pro day Monday, March 24, 2025, in Coral Gables, Fla. (AP Photo/Michael Laughlin)
FILE - Miami quarterback Cam Ward (1) warms up before an NCAA college football game against California in Berkeley, Calif., Oct. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Jed Jacobsohn, File)
Jackson State quarterback Shedeur Sanders (2) sprints 42-yards to a first half touchdown against Southern during an NCAA college football game in Jackson, Miss., Saturday, Oct. 29, 2022. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
Washington State quarterback Cameron Ward (1) throws against Washington during the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Nov. 25, 2023, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Mississippi quarterback Jaxson Dart (2) throws the ball during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Kentucky on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, in Oxford, Miss. Kentucky won 20-17. (AP Photo/Randy J. Williams)
Louisville quarterback Tyler Shough runs a drill at the NFL football scouting combine in Indianapolis, Saturday, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Miami quarterback Cam Ward throws during the school's NFL football pro day Monday, March 24, 2025, in Coral Gables, Fla. (AP Photo/Michael Laughlin)
Mississippi quarterback Jaxson Dart sets up to pass during an offensive passing drill at the school's NFL football pro day, Friday, March 28, 2025, in Oxford, Miss. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
Louisville quarterback Tyler Shough runs a drill at the NFL football scouting combine in Indianapolis, Saturday, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders looks on against North Dakota State during an NCAA college football game Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024, in Boulder, Colorado. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)
Southern California quarterback Jaxson Dart (2) celebrates a touchdown against Arizona State during the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Nov. 6, 2021, in Tempe, Ariz. (AP Photo/Darryl Webb)
FILE - Then-Texas Tech quarterback Tyler Shough throws a pass against Oregon during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Sept. 9, 2023, in Lubbock, Texas. (AP Photo/Chase Seabolt, File)
Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders, front, and wide receiver Drelon Miller celebrate after an overtime victory over Baylor in an NCAA college football game Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024, in Boulder, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Mississippi quarterback Jaxson Dart runs a drill at the NFL football scouting combine in Indianapolis, Saturday, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Jackson State quarterback Shedeur Sanders (2) stands back to pass during the first half of the Orange Blossom Classic NCAA college football game against Florida A&M, Sunday, Sept. 4, 2022, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Southern California quarterback Jaxson Dart (2) throws a pass during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Brigham Young in Los Angeles, Saturday, Nov. 27, 2021. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Oregon quarterback Tyler Shough (12) runs the ball during the first half of an NCAA college football game for the Pac-12 Conference championship against Southern California Friday, Dec 18, 2020, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
