Insider addresses Browns' possible QB plans for 2025 NFL Draft

Rumblings suggesting that the Cleveland Browns are ready to take either Penn State pass-rusher Abdul Carter or Colorado wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter instead of quarterback Shedeur Sanders with the second overall pick of the 2025 NFL Draft have grown louder.

In his latest mailbag, NFL insider Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated discussed how the Browns could address their quarterback situation during the draft. 

"[On March 27]," Breer wrote about the Browns, "owner Jimmy Haslam, executive vice president JW Johnson and GM Andrew Berry were in State College, having dinner with Carter. Presumably, that would be a dinner you’d want the head coach to attend. Instead, Kevin Stefanski was in Oxford, Miss., in anticipation of Ole Miss QB Jaxson Dart’s pro day Friday morning. Dart would be a better bet to be the Browns’ second-round pick than anyone’s top-10 pick. This is where you can see the idea crystallizing: Cleveland could take arguably the draft’s best player, Carter, and then double back at quarterback later."

It's unclear if the Browns will have a realistic shot at grabbing Dart if they don't take him at No. 2. Some teams reportedly have him rather than Sanders as the draft's QB2, and a handful of analysts have predicted that Dart won't slide past the ninth overall pick. 

The Las Vegas Raiders (pick No. 6), New York Jets (No. 7), New Orleans Saints (No. 9) and Indianapolis Colts (No. 14) are among possible landing spots for Dart depending on which team takes Sanders and when on April 24. 

On April 2, ESPN's Field Yates linked the Browns with Carter and Louisville quarterback Tyler Shough. Yates had Cleveland grabbing Shough with overall selection No. 33, but Dart could drop out of the first round if Sanders stays on the board into the 20s. 

Plenty remains unknown during the "silly season" (or "lying season") portion of the draft process. Still, the consensus seems that the Browns won't "reach" to take Sanders with the second pick over a day-one starter (Carter or Hunter).