After a few years without any because of that offensively awful Deshaun Watson trade, the Cleveland Browns are finally getting their first-round draft picks to themselves again.
And while they usually love drafting QBs—they’ve taken three in the last three drafts—it looks like they are finally confident enough to put their eggs in one basket and quit throwing darts at the QB board (unlike some other teams).
If the latest NFL mock drafts from around the league are anything to go off of, that is the Shedeur Sanders basket. Draft experts predict that Cleveland will be looking to put Sanders in a proper position to succeed with their top pick of the draft in 2026.
After their surprise win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 17, the Browns are now 4-12 and sitting with the No. 7 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. In their latest NFL Mock Draft released the day after Week 17 Sunday, College Football HQ predicted the Browns would not only draft Sanders a weapon, but the best weapon in the draft in Arizona State wideout Jordyn Tyson.
“The Browns lack a true vertical threat on offense,” Nick Merriam explained. “Tyson alone could transform a unit that wants to ground-and-pound opponents but lacks a changeup.”
This is just one of many 2026 NFL mock drafts released over the last month that have pounced on the idea that the Browns will not draft another QB with their first-round pick next year.
Most of the time, they have Cleveland selecting a wideout instead. And for good reason. Jerry Jeudy has been a massive disappointment in 2025. And unsurprisingly, the Browns have targeted WRs just 220 times this season, third-fewest in the league.
Most NFL mock drafts have Browns supporting Shedeur Sanders with a 1st-round WR
First it was ESPN’s Field Yates predicting the Browns would take Ohio State’s Carnell Tate. Most mock drafts have Tate as the first WR to be selected, however, Jordyn Tyson is no slouch either.
ESPN and NFL Draft Buzz both have Tyson, not Tate, rated as their No. 1 wide receiver heading into this draft. After Tetairoa McMillan out of Arizona last year, it would be the second straight year the top wideout came from the Grand Canyon State.
Tyson is 6’2” and 220 pounds. He runs a decent 4.5 in the 40-yard dash. But it’s not his physical abilities that make him elite. Tyson might be the best deep ball receiver in the league, and he has an excellent understanding of leverage.
Tyson could stand to bulk up a little bit so he can beat press coverage better. But that’s about the extent of his drawbacks.
He is able to get separation seemingly at will, he has sticky hands in traffic, he loves to block and is very good at it, and he’s a menace after the catch with the ball in his hands. Not to mention he has a basketball background that makes him a great contested catch guy.
Could a Sanders-to-Tyson connection be the thing to turn this Browns franchise around?