NFL Draft countdown: Focus on Browns' first-round pick at No. 2

The 2025 NFL Draft is just two days away. Cleveland hasn't had a first-round selection since 2021, but this year, one of these prospects will likely join the Browns with the second overall pick.

QB Shedeur Sanders | Colorado

Aside from Bernie Kosar, the third-leading passer in franchise history who the team took in the supplemental draft of 1985, the Browns typically struggle to find quality quarterbacks. 

Neither Tim Couch nor Baker Mayfield, both top picks in their respective drafts, played well enough to earn a second contract from the team. Deshaun Watson, already in danger of missing the 2025 season with a torn Achilles, has played in only 19 games in three years with Cleveland.

Sanders could be the answer, but not the No. 2 pick, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, who suggested the Browns could trade back into the first round to get him.

"I know the Browns do have love for Shedeur Sanders," Fowler says, "probably not at No. 2 overall at this point, but they like his sort of computer-mind processing ability at the line of scrimmage."

At 6-foot-1.5 and 212 pounds, Sanders has plenty of size and is generally regarded as a poised, accurate passer with a quick release. He made 24 starts for Colorado, throwing for 7,364 yards and 64 touchdowns after following his head coach and father, Deion Sanders, from Jackson State in 2023. 

Sanders completed 74 percent of his passes for 4,134 yards last season, and his 37 touchdowns trailed only Miami’s Cam Ward (39), who is believed to be the best quarterback in the draft.

CB/WR Travis Hunter | Colorado

Of course, Sanders’ former teammate could be an even better fit for the 3-14 Browns. No team scored fewer points per game (15.2), and only four teams averaged fewer yards (300.8) last year. Meanwhile, Hunter led the FBS with 21 catches of 20-plus yards and had 96 receptions for 1,258 yards and 15 touchdowns in 2024.