The Cleveland Browns selected two quarterbacks in the 2025 NFL Draft, but that won’t stop them from taking another in 2026.
Cleveland is expected to be near the bottom of the standings again with Joe Flacco as the starting quarterback. Despite the team still having Deshaun Watson under contract and Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders as rookies, one insider expects them to use their first-round pick in 2026 on a franchise quarterback.
NFL insider and analyst Nick Baumgardner of The Athletic projects the Browns will have the second overall pick and will select LaNorris Sellers from South Carolina.
“So much of this depends on what we see from the 20-year-old Sellers this season. He had some very nice stretches in the pocket as a sophomore last season, though, while remaining dangerous in the open field— and difficult to tackle at 6 feet 3, 242 pounds. He has youthful habits to iron out, but Sellers has the tools to be a star at the next level,” Baumgardner wrote.
Sellers would take over the Browns’ starting quarterback and could push Sanders off the roster. Sanders is already the third-string quarterback, so he would once again be in a competition for a roster spot.
Sanders was selected in the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft by the Browns. He will be inactive on game days as the third quarterback.
Sellers Compared to Former Browns Rival QB
Sellers has gained a lot of momentum as a potential early pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, entering the college football season.
The South Carolina quarterback has expectations of leading the Gamecocks to the College Football Playoff. After Week 1 of the season, former NFL quarterback and now analyst Dan Orlovsky compared Sellers to former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.
“Because he is Big Ben, but fast,” said Orlovsky. “He’s 6’3”, 235 pounds. A tremendous athlete, but the ability that he has shown to throw the ball downfield has grown. He’s one of the best quarterbacks in football,” Orlovsky said.
If Sellers has a career like Roethlisberger, it would be a solid one, as Roethlisberger played 18 seasons in the NFL, all for the Steelers.
He’s a two-time Super Bowl champion and six-time Pro Bowler.
Sanders Was Confident He’d Make the Browns
Entering training camp, Sanders was in a competition for a roster spot.
Cleveland had four healthy quarterbacks in Flacco, Gabriel, Sanders, and Kenny Pickett competing for three spots. The Browns ended up trading Pickett away, meaning Sanders made the roster, but he didn’t think it was a question of whether he would make the roster.
“Obviously,” Sanders said to NFL Network’s Bridget Condon. “I think overall as a player, I feel like I’ve put in the work. I feel like everything I do, I try to do it to my best and that’s all you can ask for, I feel like everybody feels like they should be on the team. If you ask anybody on the team would they feel like they belong, they belong in they own eyes. I feel like I do, but I’m my own player. I think about myself in a high regard.”
Despite making the roster, Sanders will serve as an inactive throughout the season.
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