The Cleveland Browns are less than a week away from embarking on a surprisingly successful season or the path toward a high pick in the 2027 NFL Draft. The worst-case scenario might actually be something in between.
Now that Deshaun Watson has been named a captain for this season in addition to being the Browns’ starting quarterback, some fans are even more disturbed by his presence than they were before, and they already chose to boo him multiple times during a preseason game. So if he’s also deemed a better player than backup Shedeur Sanders, Cleveland’s QB outlook for the future remains bleak.
With that in mind, Bleacher Report has the Browns landing a top QB prospect in its latest NFL mock draft, with Dante Moore of Oregon the selection at No. 4 overall.
“The Cleveland Browns’ decision to make Deshaun Watson their long-term quarterback has not produced the results the franchise hoped for. Granted, Shedeur Sanders must prove himself as well. In the end, the Browns are likely looking for another quarterback next April, with Oregon’s Dante Moore arguably the best fit for the franchise’s needs,” Brent Sobleski wrote.
As with most mock drafts at this early juncture, before one regular-season game has even been played, the Browns are expected to be in competition with the Miami Dolphins, Arizona Cardinals, and New York Jets for the No. 1 overall pick and the chance to draft whichever quarterback they want. The Browns and Jets each have multiple first-round selections and can package them to trade up if need be.
But in this mock draft, the Miami Dolphins use the No. 1 pick on Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, which would mean that free-agent signee Malik Willis has convinced the team that he is its QB of the future. Then, the Arizona Cardinals take the University of Miami QB at No. 2, followed by the New York Jets selecting the University of Texas QB at No. 3.
That leaves the Browns missing out on Manning, who reportedly is a target of owner Jimmy Haslam, and selecting Moore, who actually may have been their pick in the 2025 NFL Draft had he not decided to return to college for another season. The mock also mentions that the Browns may also consider Notre Dame cornerback Leonard Moore and Texas edge rusher Colin Simmons at this spot.
Falling any further down the board may take the Browns out of the running for an elite quarterback, so the early portion of the season, starting against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday, could already set the tone for how this is going to go.
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