The Cleveland Browns’ quarterback room is incredibly crowded. The team added Kenny Pickett through a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles, signed Joe Flacco, and selected Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders in the draft. Deshaun Watson is also still on the roster, though he will likely miss the entire 2025 season with an injury.
Obviously, all eyes have been on Sanders, as the Colorado product’s draft slide to Round 5 has been one of the biggest NFL stories in recent memory. However, Cleveland also used a third-round pick on Gabriel, who posted an excellent 2024 campaign at Oregon.
Though Sanders and Gabriel have some promise and one of them could be a long-term answer at quarterback for the Browns, Sports Illustrated’s Richie Bradshaw believes the franchise will move in a new direction in 2026 and select Texas signal-caller Arch Manning in Round 1 of the draft.
Bradshaw predicts Cleveland will land the No.1 overall pick in next year’s draft.
Few sports families have the royalty the Mannings have, and Arch is ready to secure his throne for the next level. In limited playing time for the Longhorns, Manning has blown away even the highest expectations placed on him. Texas is a heavyweight to win a national title, and Manning is perhaps the biggest reason why. It would be nice to see him end up in Cleveland, too, where he can create his own Manning legacy instead of playing in the shadow of his uncles or grandfather from their previous teams.
Manning impressed in limited playing time in 2024, as he showcased his dual-threat abilities and electric arm talent in just a handful of starts. The 21-year-old is widely regarded as the top quarterback in the 2026 draft class and has a chance to bolster his draft stock even more this year.
The Browns have been stuck in quarterback purgatory for decades, but Manning could finally be the answer. The New Orleans native isn’t a surefire prospect, but he has franchise quarterback potential at the next level, and Cleveland needs any type of hope.
The Watson experiment completely failed for the Browns, and their quarterback situation this season also looks like a hot mess. However, a horrid 2025 campaign filled with dreadful losses could lead to Cleveland finally getting their savior in Manning next year.
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