The Cleveland Browns don’t hold the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, but the long-suffering franchise seemingly has the biggest decision to make. Financially strapped by Deshaun Watson’s guaranteed contract as the controversial former star quarterback recovers from a torn Achilles, head coach Kevin Stefanski and general manager Andrew Berry have to choose whether to use the No. 2 overall selection on a defensive star or Watson’s replacement.
Well, it appears that with two months until the draft in Green Bay, that decision has not yet been made. On Wednesday the Browns hosted Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders, Colorado cornerback/wide receiver Travis Hunter, and Penn State defensive end Abdul Carter for their Top 30 visit. With that specific group of prospects all in town together, Cleveland is likely expecting the Tennessee Titans to select Miami quarterback Cam Ward first overall.
To further complicate the situation in Cleveland, star defensive end Myles Garrett has requested a trade away from the organization. While Berry and the rest of the front offensive have held firm that they have no intentions of trading the former No. 1 overall pick out of Texas A&M in the 2017 NFL Draft, Garrett could force their hand before next season, making Carter an enticing option.
One of the primary reasons to take a quarterback early in the NFL draft is that your franchise would have the most important position accounted for at a low cost for the first four years of that player’s career. However, the Browns, because of Watson’s disastrous contract, would forfeit the surplus value that comes along with taking Sanders at No. 2. Still, if Deion Sanders’s son lives up to the hype as an NFL franchise QB, solving a problem that has plagued the Browns since their return to Cleveland, that would be an inconsequential footnote.
Still, the Watson situation could lead Berry and Stefanski to select a defensive star like Hunter or Carter. If Carter is taken second, he would be the highest-drafted Penn State player since Saquon Barkley went No. 2 overall in the 2017 draft, one spot behind Garrett, to the New York Giants.