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To reach or not to reach, that's the Browns question with a quarterback at No. 2
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- To reach or not to reach, that's the Browns question with a quarterback at No. 2
There's going to be a constant narrative about the Browns and what they need to do with the No. 2 overall pick . It's going to exist right up until they make the pick or trade it on April 24.
That narrative is going to center around quarterback , the most important position in the sport. Specifically, it's going to center on the positional need, making it worth reaching for a player who, otherwise, would be ranked nowhere near that spot.
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The question is, does it have to definitively be a "franchise quarterback" you're taking with the No. 2 pick?
"Not in those words," Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said at the NFL scouting combine. "Obviously, if you're taking a guy there, you believe in him to be a guy that can be your franchise quarterback, quote-unquote. But, you know, we're just looking for a good player that fits us."
It's the trickiness for the Browns in having a desperate need for a quarterback in a year when the quarterback options are thin at best. That's not just with regards to a draft class seen as underwhelming, but also a free-agent pool that is, quite frankly, yawn-inducing.
Kirk Cousins , should he be made available. Sam Darnold . Aaron Rodgers . Justin Fields . That's just some of the players the Browns are combing through when it comes to next week's opening of free agency.
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As for the draft, it seems clear that Miami 's Cam Ward has, since the combine last week, separated himself even more from the pack. That includes from Colorado's Shedeur Sanders , who has been seen as the No. 2 option in the draft class for some time.
"What we'll look to do is maximize the No. 2 as a resource, and that's whether we select a quarterback, select a non-quarterback, or move the asset for something else," Browns general manager Andrew Berry said at the combine. "All of those decisions are fortunately ones that we don't have to make for a couple of weeks, but we'll work through a bunch of different scenarios.
"And, really, it starts with just getting to know the prospects, and once we feel like we have a good feel for the prospects, then we can make some of the strategic decisions."
Tying the Browns to one set path at No. 2 always seemed to be a narrow-minded way to view the offseason plan. While the group of veteran quarterbacks on the market is underwhelming in name, there will be multiple ones who could at least raise the floor of a team that went 3-14 last season.
Colorado's Shedeur Sanders speaks to the media during the NFL scouting combine on Feb. 28, 2025, in Indianapolis, Indiana.
There's a handful of those veterans the Browns could acquire who could at least provide them a reason to potentially hold off on taking a quarterback higher than he needs to go. That's particularly true with a quarterback class in which even the top ones aren't ranked nearly as high as in other drafts.
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"Yeah, so it would be a reach at two, just because he is my No. 15 overall player on my big board," ESPN draft analyst Jordan Reid, who has Sanders going to the Browns in his latest mock draft, said on a Zoom call Wednesday. "But quarterbacks are always going to be pushed up the board just because of how significant the position is. Need is always going to cause a lot of teams to reach on these quarterbacks."
Reid has Ward, whom most have going No. 1 overall to the Tennessee Titans , or to a team trading up with the Titans, ranked No. 9 overall among all prospects. He doesn't project any other quarterback to go in the first round.
That means the Browns could, in theory, take a non-quarterback at No. 2 overall and take a quarterback on day two. It wouldn't necessarily be the kind of move that excites fans, but this quarterback class' overall ranking doesn't accomplish that feat.
That is something Stefanski is not completely sure is fair.
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"I don't know," Stefanski said. "Who's repping them? Who can we ask that question? I'm not sure. And I think that's what we do as people that, as we consume the draft, and there's a lot to consume, I think there's always narratives that people are putting out, but I don't think those guys are very concerned with whatever that narrative may be."
Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Browns facing question about reaching for a QB with No. 2 pick
