When the Cleveland Browns traded the No. 2 overall pick in the 2025 Draft, and picked up an extra first-round pick in the 2026 Draft, everyone assumed they would draft a first-round quarterback in 2026. While the Browns went on to select two mid-round quarterbacks in 2025, that expectation still remains. Unless Shedeur Sanders, who’s set to make his second start in Week 13, convinces the franchise he's who Cleveland has been looking for, the team will take a QB with its first pick.
There is one other thing, besides Sanders playing promising enough, that could prevent the Browns from drafting a first-round quarterback in 2026.