Browns QB tracker: Shedeur Sanders and other options available in the NFL Draft

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Essentially, the Cleveland Browns are on the clock.

The day after a large Browns contingent that included executives, coaches and the ownership group went to Colorado for multiple days of in-person exposure to wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter and quarterback Shedeur Sanders, the Tennessee Titans canceled plans to hold private workouts with both players.

That could indicate the Titans have locked in on Miami quarterback Cam Ward with the No. 1 pick, meaning the Browns would have their choice of any other prospect at No. 2.

The Browns have figured Ward would go to Tennessee, and they’ve spent the last two weeks holding in-person meetings and private workouts with players of interest. Ward was one of them, and Sanders was also one of the five quarterbacks with whom Cleveland held a private workout. The others were Jaxson Dart of Ole Miss, Jalen Milroe of Alabama and Tyler Shough of Louisville.

The Browns will probably use their top pick on Hunter or Penn State edge rusher Abdul Carter, the players almost universally ranked 1-2 (in some order) in this year’s draft. But nothing is certain, and maybe the Browns will select Sanders given their need at the game’s most important position.

But with decision time looming, we’re going to assume that Cleveland’s quarterback search will lead the team to either take one with its next pick — atop the second round at No. 33 — or work out a trade to either move back into the first round or gain an additional second-round pick.

“From where I sit, I’m excited that we’re going to get a really, really good football player on this roster (at No. 2),” Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said last week at the NFL’s annual meeting. “That’s for us to talk through in terms of which player that is or if it’s a trade (where) you’re moving back, you’re still getting players you like and you’re picking up players. So I think everything is available to us, but I think it’s something that we’ll talk through over the course of the next month.”

The Browns held a private workout with Sanders after attending the Colorado pro day, where he threw to Hunter and three other draft-eligible Buffaloe receivers. The team’s contingent that included team owner Jimmy Haslam, offensive coordinator Tommy Rees and quarterbacks coach Bill Musgrave had previously worked out Shough in Eugene, Ore., the first of the quarterback’s three stops during his seven-year college career.

Last week, Shough told NFL Network he was “sworn to secrecy” by teams who had worked him out, but the interview revealed his workout with Cleveland as one of “a few” he’s had.

Asked last week if the Browns’ workout of Sanders would be their last, Stefanski said that “we’re covered making sure we see all these guys.”

The night before Colorado’s pro day, the Browns dined with Hunter and his family and Sanders and his family, which includes his Hall of Fame father and Colorado’s head coach, Deion Sanders. After the pro day, Deion answered a question about his first meeting with Haslam by saying he believes either Hunter or Shedeur Sanders will be drafted by the Browns.

“I think one of those guys is going to be there,” Deion said.

The Browns did not visit Hunter and Sanders last by design, at least not by their design. Colorado’s pro day was one of the last on the schedule, and the Browns had coordinated their three earlier quarterback visits to conclude before the start of the NFL meeting. Stefanski stayed for Dart’s pro day after the Browns’ private workout, and they had their March 26 visit and workout set up before Ward threw at Miami’s March 24 pro day. The Browns traveled to work out Milroe about a week after his pro day. However, they already had a personal connection as Rees called plays for Milroe’s Alabama team in 2023.

Carter and his family had dinner with Haslam and Browns general manager Andrew Berry in State College on March 27, the night before Penn State’s pro day. But Carter is still recovering from a Dec. 31 shoulder injury and a hamstring strain he suffered while training for pre-draft workouts, so he didn’t participate and the Browns’ contingent departed before the pro day began.

Cleveland’s group reconvened last week in Palm Beach, Fla., at the league’s annual meeting before the last round of in-person visits. With the final full-staff draft meetings set to commence this week, the Browns can now narrow their focus to either one single player with the No. 2 pick or a set of trade options, then they can start working on options to address the quarterback position if they begin the draft with Hunter or Carter.

“I would say we’re still working through it,” Berry said last week. “There are a bunch of players we like at the top of the draft, and we continue to do our work on them, and I would say including quarterbacks. So, that’s part of what next week and the next couple weeks are about, figuring all that out. The good thing is we still have time. We have (almost) a month. It’s a big decision, so there’s no sense in rushing it. We’re going to use all the time that we have to make the best decision for the organization.”

Some interesting players are still scheduled to visit Cleveland ahead of the April 16 deadline to formally host draft prospects. ESPN reported that Michigan defensive tackle Mason Graham, the No. 4 player on The Athletic’s top 100 list, will visit the Browns Monday. Fox Sports reported that Ohio State running back Quinshon Judkins is also scheduled for a visit this week. Judkins is the No. 70 overall prospect in what’s considered a strong running back class and is likely to be a second- or third-round pick.

The Browns only confirmed their first set of visitors in early March: Hunter, Shedeur Sanders and Carter. No other visitors were announced by the team. In previous years, the Browns have neither announced nor confirmed pre-draft visitors.

The Browns are looking to add young talent across the roster and could end up using their four selections over the draft’s first two days to address left tackle, running back, wide receiver, the defensive line or even linebacker. But with Kenny Pickett the only healthy passer under contract, the Browns are going to draft at least one quarterback and seem a safe bet to take one in the first two rounds.

For all the fancy restaurants the team’s traveling group visited on its pre-draft tour, there was also a buzz about Chipotle — specifically one in Cleveland’s western suburbs on the night of March 27. That’s where some Browns fans posed for pictures with Kirk Cousins, who’s under contract with the Atlanta Falcons, and posted them to social media. Cousins acknowledged being there, and his agency moved quickly to say he was in town for non-NFL reasons. At the league’s annual meeting, Stefanski called Cousins’ presence at a Cleveland-area Chipotle “the easiest no-comment ever.”

Cousins has asked the Falcons for a chance to start elsewhere after he was replaced as Atlanta’s starter in December. Given that he previously worked with Stefanski in Minnesota, it’s been easy to link Cousins to Cleveland. But Atlanta paid Cousins a $10 million bonus for 2026 to retain his rights for now, and even if the Browns wait on a quarterback in the draft and want Cousins, they would still need to work out trade compensation with the Falcons, as well as a salary-sharing plan.

So, a quarterback search that’s mysterious both in its nature and because the Browns have only added Pickett thus far now extends to the draft. Given the extra work and time the Browns put into Sanders, Dart, Milroe and Shough, we’ll assume those four are atop the list of realistic possibilities. But the Browns don’t have to commit to anything right now. Berry stressed that even with the Titans’ plans basically finalized, the Browns don’t feel rushed to lock in on any one player.

Maybe they’ll circle No. 33 as the quarterback pick, watch the first round unfold and finalize things before Day 2 begins. Maybe the Browns will end up prioritizing Sanders or Dart and try to trade back into the first round to get their guy. Maybe they’ll take a left tackle or defensive lineman at No. 33, then trade back into the second round with Milroe or Shough as their target. Maybe they’ve just been waiting on Cousins all along, have a plan for a different developmental quarterback and didn’t want to spill the tea — or Chipotle salsa — along the way.

The guessing game goes on. All that’s changed is 99 percent assurance that the draft drama begins with the Browns at No. 2 later this month.

(Photo: David Zalubowski / Associated Press)

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