The Cleveland Browns may have picked up their first win of the season this past week, but they still appear to be headed for a top pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
While veteran Joe Flacco is still the starter, rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders are expected to get a chance to play later on down the season.
The Browns have to know what they have in their rookies from Oregon and Colorado before they look into the next crop of young quarterbacks for next April.
Browns Predicted to Select a Rookie Quarterback in 2026
In a segment on his radio show, Ken Carman of 92.3 The Fan predicted that Cleveland will be back at the quarterback well in the 2026 draft.
"Get comfortable with one of the QBs, because you are going to take one. For Browns’ fans' sake, I’ll say this. You better hope and pray Drew Allar puts it on Oregon on Saturday, then on November 1st puts it on Ohio State because you’ll be a lot more comfortable then," said Carman.
Even if the Browns put together a somewhat solid season, they are still armed with two first-round picks headed into next Spring that would allow them to move up the draft board to pick a signal-caller they're interested in.
Quarterbacks that headline the 2026 class include Penn State’s Drew Allar, LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier, South Carolina’s LaNorris Sellers, and Clemson’s Cade Klubnik.
Regardless, Gabriel and Sanders will still get a chance at some point down the stretch to prove they have what it takes to be the Browns' long-term quarterback. But if neither can flash, it's almost a guarantee there will be a new QB1 in Cleveland in 2026.
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