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The Cleveland Browns may or may not draft quarterbacks with the No. 2 overall pick in the NFL Draft. Some have predicted that they will draft Shedeur Sanders with the pick, but one NFL insider thinks a trade with the Minnesota Vikings could give Cleveland a chance to get its QB late in the first round, rather than early.
Although Sanders is certainly an option at No. 2, taking two-way Heisman winner Travis Hunter or elite edge prospect Abdul Carter would seem like safer decisions. Still, if the Browns want to take a swing on a quarterback in the first round, ESPN’s Matt Miller threw out a trade idea that could achieve the goal.
“The Minnesota Vikings trade No. 24 to the Cleveland Browns for Nos. 33 and 94,” Miller wrote for ESPN. “With only four picks in the draft, Minnesota needs to collect more draft capital and continue adding young, inexpensive players to the roster. Big contracts for the Vikings’ stars could soon put them up against the salary cap. Moving back nine places allows them to do that. Cleveland, meanwhile, gets the chance to jump back into Round 1 if Dart or even Sanders are still available.”
Where Sanders or Dart will go seems very much up in the air, but there has been far more chatter about Sanders coming off of the board in the top 10 — potentially to the New Orleans Saints at No. 9 — which could mean he will not be available if the Browns did trade up for a second pick in the first round.
Dart, on the other hand, has been projected all over the place. Some mock drafts have him as a top-10 pick, while others have him slotted later in the first round, right around where Miller thinks the Browns can trade up.
Whether Cleveland decides to stand pat draft a quarterback on the first day of the draft or not, the Browns will seemingly enter the season with Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett on their QB depth chart. Cleveland acquired Pickett, a former Pittsburgh Steelers first-round pick, from the Philadelphia Eagles. Flacco, who led the team to the playoffs in 2023, returned to Cleveland on a one-year deal in free agency after a year playing for the Indianapolis Colts.
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