Everything was going according to plan for the Cleveland Browns late in the 2025 season. They had a terrible record and were in line to earn the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Even if they didn’t get that top choice, the Browns were certainly going to be well-positioned to take advantage of a talented quarterback class. Then, everything fell apart.
Not only did the Browns win their final two games with Shedeur Sanders at quarterback to fall to No. 6 in the draft order, but the QB class lost its top-end depth when Arch Manning and Dante Moore decided to return to college for another season. That left Fernando Mendoza as the No. 1 overall pick to the Las Vegas Raiders, with Ty Simpson winding up as the only other first-round QB, going to the Los Angeles Rams at No. 13.
Now, Cleveland is hoping for a do-over, again in line for the No. 1 overall pick with a talented QB class expected to be available. That makes this college football season arguably even more important to the franchise.
With that in mind, insider Tony Grossi revealed what the Browns need from the 2027 QB class, and that’s to perform at the level of the 2024 class, when quarterbacks were the top three picks.
“At minimum, we need three of the college quarterbacks to ball out like a Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye draft. We need three of them to be franchise hopefuls,” Grossi said.
“At minimum, we need 3 of the college quarterbacks to ball out,” – @TonyGrossi on how the Browns are positioned to get a QB in the 2027 draft. pic.twitter.com/6jmbkTXhwm
— ESPN Cleveland (@ESPNCleveland) September 4, 2026
The more QBs to choose from, the better for the Browns, who will likely be competing with the Arizona Cardinals, Miami Dolphins and New York Jets for the best prospects. Holding two first-round picks, the Browns could package them to trade up if necessary, but the Jets are armed with three such selections to make an even better deal to get the QB they want.
There is also a chance any of the potential QBs could manipulate their landing spot, particularly Manning, whose family has a well-documented history of doing so. So, even if they hold a valuable pick, the Browns may have to convince at least one of them that the franchise is heading in the right direction.
Williams, Daniels and Maye, along with classmate Bo Nix, have worked out as well as their NFL teams could have wanted coming out of their draft, and the Browns can only hope that they will be just as fortunate next April.
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