The Cleveland Browns are in a complicated position heading into next season. Extending Myles Garrett was their crowning achievement of the offseason, especially after a trade request from the dominant defender. However, their quarterback situation still remains a question mark.
This year, four different QBs will be vying for their starting role — Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, Dillon Gabriel, and Shedeur Sanders — with their highest-paid quarterback, Deshaun Watson, already out for the 2025 season due to a ruptured Achilles. While there’s plenty of excitement about Sanders and Gabriel in Cleveland, if things don’t work out with either of them, one NFL analyst believes Cleveland will have a different quarterback of the future one year from now.
Browns Predicted To Move On From Shedeur Sanders-Dillon Gabriel in 2026
As scouting for the 2026 NFL Draft ramps up, all eyes are on a highly talented and quarterback-heavy class. While Arch Manning was the overwhelming favorite to go No. 1 overall, it has been heavily reported that he is not likely to opt in for the draft.
That leaves the Browns, if they end up with a top pick, with Penn State’s Drew Allar, and PFSN’s Mark Stolte predicts Cleveland will take him off the board at No. 2 overall.
“Drew Allar is my second-ranked quarterback so far. Things can definitely change, but he has a strong arm and the ideal size,” Stolte wrote. “If Kevin Stefanski somehow survives another rough season, Allar’s comfort with play-action would be a solid fit for the Cleveland Browns. According to TruMedia, Allar ranked 22nd in EPA (expected points added) per dropback on play-action throws.”
It’s worth noting that Cleveland also owns the Jacksonville Jaguars’ first-round pick in next year’s draft after their Travis Hunter trade, so they could have a pair of early picks to potentially add a quarterback.
But the big question for Cleveland is whether they’ll be ready to pivot away from Gabriel and Sanders so quickly. The fact that both rookies were mid-to-late-round picks could make it easier to justify moving on from them, particularly for a quarterback they were reportedly interested in taking in the 2025 NFL Draft, only if Allar had declared.
If Drew Allar had declared this year, @dpbrugler believes he would have been selected second overall to the Browns.
Instead, Cleveland took two rookies in this year’s draft — and gained added flexibility to add another in 2026. pic.twitter.com/C66d7Sz639
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) May 4, 2025
In his three-year collegiate career with the Nittany Lions, he threw for 6,302 yards, 53 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions on a 62.9% completion percentage. He also rushed for 560 yards and 11 touchdowns.
While the Browns’ defense has taken leaps in recent years, their offense needs to see better days than its dead-last finish on PFSN’s Offense+ metric. Allar potentially offers that pathway as the QB1 in 2026 — even if it might upset some fans who want to see the team stick with Gabriel or Sanders under center a bit longer.