Cleveland Browns Receive Rough Criticism For Roster Construction

The Cleveland Browns may not know what they're doing at the quarterback position heading into 2025. In fact, it's almost a certainty that there's not a firm plan in place.

Why else would they have brought in Kenny Pickett and Joe Flacco this offseason before then selecting Dillon Gabriel (third round) and Shedeur Sanders (fifth round) in the 2025 NFL Draft?

There's an old saying in football circles that goes like this: "If you have two quarterbacks, you actually have none."

That's been proven true time and time again in the NFL, but what does it mean if you have five quarterbacks?

In the NFL, a team's fortunes rise and fall based on the starting quarterback. If you've got a star at the position, you've got a chance to make the playoffs and make the noise. It could be a long season if you've got question marks at quarterback. Not counting Deshaun Watson, who will likely never play another snap as a Brown, Cleveland has four questions at quarterback this offseason.

The Browns are going to try to resolve that before the season starts, but that's the main reason why Matt Verderame of Sports Illustrated considers the Browns last in the AFC North in a recent power ranking of the division.

"Cleveland has five quarterbacks on its roster, and none who could start in most cities," Verderame wrote. "That’s where the Browns are heading into the next phase of the offseason, with Kenny Pickett, Joe Flacco, Deshaun Watson, Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel all vying to move up the depth chart."

That's a blazing take against the Browns' quarterback room, that none would start on any other team, but Verderame wasn't done with his eviseration of the Browns' offseason.

"Even if Cleveland gets excellent play under center, the rest of the team has issues," he wrote. "The Browns allowed the second-most sacks in the NFL last year and didn’t upgrade the line. They also have Jerry Jeudy and question marks on the outside, although tight end David Njoku is one of the more dynamic players at his position."

So it's basically David Njoku and Jerry Jeudy and nobody else for the Browns, and that's even if one of Flacco, Pickett, Gabriel or Sanders can be an acceptable starter in 2025.

At the very least, Cleveland can rely on defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, who is one of the best in the NFL at his job. The Browns also didn't lose superstar pass-rusher Myles Garrett this offseason, which at one point seemed like a certainty.

So that's the good news, though there is not much of it right now for Cleveland.

Could another "rebuilding" year be in the cards? Verderame certainly thinks so. The Browns are last in his AFC North rankings behind the Baltimore Ravens, Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals.