Shedeur Sanders, Dillon Gabriel put on notice after latest Browns mock draft

Charlie Baduini

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Shedeur Sanders, Dillon Gabriel put on notice after latest Browns mock draft image

The Cleveland Browns came into this season with a veteran quarterback in Joe Flacco and two rookies, Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders, and it's led to a poor 2025.

Will the Browns really take another swing at a rookie in 2026? Most likely yes. Gabriel and Sanders haven't shown enough to prove they can be a franchise quarterback, and Cleveland has all the draft capital in the world to move up and down the board as they please.

In The Athletic's latest mock draft, Dane Brugler has the Browns trading up to No. 1 overall with the Tennessee Titans to select their quarterback of choice.

Browns predicted to trade up to No. 1 and select Indiana's Fernando Mendoza

"Owning two first-rounders in April and having received marginal play under center this season, the Browns have the ammo and motivation to be aggressive quarterback hunters this offseason," wrote Brugler.

"In this scenario, the Browns package both of their 2026 first-rounders (and probably a 2027 Day 2 selection) to Tennessee for rights to the No. 1 pick."

Thanks to last year's Travis Hunter trade, Cleveland can leverage their extra resources to find their hopeful franchise signal caller in the University of Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza.

"Mendoza, whom NFL scouts compare to Goff or Kirk Cousins, won’t wow with his arm velocity or speed, but his football intelligence (both pre- and post-snap) separates him. He has an outstanding feel for playing on time and layering throws to attack vulnerable spots in the defense, with just enough mobility to avoid sacks at an encouraging rate," continued Brugler.

With Mendoza under center, the Browns can finally turn the page on a weird era of Cleveland football and begin a new with arguably the top quarterback in college football.

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Contributing Writer