The Cleveland Browns are looking more and more likely to earn a shot at one of the top quarterbacks in the 2026 NFL draft, which bodes ill for the futures of current rookie QBs Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders.
Cleveland is 1-5, which is tied for the second-worst record in the league through Week 6, and has traded away both Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett — the veteran quarterbacks the team acquired during the spring when the intent to win in 2025 remained strong. The Browns also hold the first-round pick belonging to the Jacksonville Jaguars, which they could package with their own selection to potentially move up even higher than wherever it is they end up in the 2026 draft order.
Jordan Reid of ESPN released an early mock draft on Wednesday, October 15, in which he predicted that Cleveland will select Oregon QB Dante Moore with the No. 3 overall pick next April.
“Moore was surging up draft boards prior to an underwhelming performance against Indiana, but he is a calm distributor with the arm strength to get the ball to all three levels of the field,” Reid wrote. “His 72% completion percentage ranks ninth in the FBS. Moore has only 11 career starts, but he is primed to be near the top of a QB class filled with question marks. The Browns have plenty of questions of their own under center, as rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders haven’t established themselves as long-term options.”
Dante Moore Has Jumped From Unproven QB With Question Marks to Top of Several NFL Draft Boards
GettyOregon Ducks quarterback Dante Moore.
Oregon lost to Indiana at home last weekend, which was the Ducks’ first defeat of the year and dropped them to the bottom end of the top 10 in both the AP and Coach’s Polls.
It was Moore’s first loss since becoming the starter in 2025. He played behind Gabriel at Oregon last year and spent a season with UCLA before that. Through six games this season, Moore has amassed 1,396 passing yards, 15 TDs and three INTs.
Former ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay, now of the The Ringer, spoke glowingly about Moore during a September episode of “The Bill Simmons Podcast,” noting that the QB broke onto the scene this year in a way McShay never saw coming.
“Dante Moore from Oregon is the best passer of the football in all of college football,” McShay said. “He’s what the NFL is looking for. … I’m all-in on this guy.”
Dillon Gabriel, Shedeur Sanders Still Have Time to Prove Themselves as NFL QBs
GettyQuarterback Dillon Gabriel of the Cleveland Browns.
As for Gabriel, he has got more runway to show the Browns that he can be a longterm answer as a starting quarterback in the NFL.
Gabriel is 0-2 in two starts and will be QB1 again this Sunday against the Miami Dolphins. He has completed 57.3 percent of his passes for 430 yards and three touchdowns. Gabriel has not turned the football over in four appearances, two of which came in garbage time relief of Flacco early in the year.
Sanders is now QB2 and is likely to get a chance to prove himself as an NFL starter at some point this season, though the timing of that opportunity will depend on how Gabriel plays and develops over the coming weeks.
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