Ken Blaze, Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images

Browns Predicted to Draft QB After Shedeur Sanders’ Rookie Season

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Parker Johnson | Last updated Oct 15, 2025 1:54 PM ET

Six games into the 2025 NFL season, the Cleveland Browns still do not have a clear answer on the future of their quarterback position. If their 1-5 start to the year is any indication, the Browns are likely to have an early first round pick in a 2026 NFL Draft that is full of intriguing QB prospects.

Since Oct. 7, rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders have been the only healthy quarterback options for head coach Kevin Stefanski. Cleveland traded 40-year-old veteran Joe Flacco, who went 1-3 as their starter, to the Cincinnati Bengals. Gabriel is still searching for his first win since taking over under center, while Sanders has not taken a snap since preseason.

Cleveland Browns quarterback Dillon Gabriel made his first career start in a Week 5 loss to the Minnesota Vikings.Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

One year after spending a third-round pick on Gabriel and a fifth-round pick on Sanders, Jordan Reid predicts that the Browns will go for Oregon QB Dante Moore with the No. 3 overall pick in ESPN's latest 2026 NFL mock draft.

This season, Moore has completed 72.0 percent of his passes for 1,396 yards, 15 touchdowns and three interceptions. In the Ducks' huge road win against then-No. 3 Penn State on Sept. 27, Moore showed the tools to be a franchise quarterback in the NFL, according to Athlon Sports' Luke Easterling.

The hype faded slightly over recent weeks, with Penn State losing its next two games and Moore getting outdueled by Indiana quarterback and No. 1 overall mock draft selection Fernando Mendoza last Saturday.

Oregon Ducks quarterback Dante Moore.Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

"Moore has only 11 career starts, but he is primed to be near the top of a QB class filled with question marks," Reid said in the ESPN mock draft. "The Browns have plenty of questions of their own under center, as rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders haven't established themselves as long-term options."

Gabriel's numbers (411 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions) have not been mind-blowing in his first two NFL starts, but Stefanski is committed to giving the rookie time to "make those improvements that young players make and also play better around him."

Sanders remains a wild card, having shown flashes of his talent in the preseason. Despite the feelings of his dad and Browns fans , there is no indication that the former Colorado Buffaloes star will see the field any time soon.

Whether or not another Oregon QB is the salve for the Browns' early-season troubles, the bottom line is that finding the quarterback for the future is the only way for Cleveland to get out of its current rut.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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