With the No. 2 pick in the 2025 NFL draft, the Cleveland Browns will have a chance to draft one of Cam Ward, Shedeur Sanders, or Travis Hunter.
Hunter, regarded as one of the top NFL prospects in college football history, could be a franchise-changing player. Ward and Sanders, the two elite quarterback prospects of this draft class, could help the Browns solve a position that’s been a question mark for much of the past decade.
The Browns have a tough decision to make, and while there’s a chance they could trade the pick, taking one of those three players seems to be the best plan for the organization’s future.
However, in a prediction from ESPN’s Matt Miller, the Browns would pass on all three to draft wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan.
“The Browns need to find a young franchise quarterback, but will they trade up to secure Miami’s Cam Ward or Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders if needed? That feels unlikely given the money owed to Watson. Instead, bolstering the wide receiver room could be the play. Arizona’s Tetairoa McMillan is 6-foot-5 and plays like Falcons receiver Drake London, which would immediately lift a Cleveland offense that has only 18 touchdown receptions this season,” Miller wrote on January 6.
Insider Suggests Browns Will Draft a Quarterback
The easiest way for the Cleveland Browns to replace Deshaun Watson would be in the draft. They don’t have the cap space to sign or trade for a proven quarterback, and Watson clearly needs to be replaced.
Whether it’s the injuries, bad play, off-the-field issues, or anything else, Watson hasn’t played at the level the Browns hoped for.
There’s no guarantee that Ward or Sanders would fix everything, but they’d at least give the Browns some hope heading into the future.
According to a recent report, the Browns plan to draft a quarterback, citing that Cleveland knows Watson “isn’t great.”
“They’re going quarterback,” The Athletic’s Dianna Russini said in January during the “Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz” on Tuesday. “They see what we see. This is not a mystery. This is not like they’re psyched about Deshaun Watson’s ability, leadership, play. They know this isn’t great. But they also have no way out of this. So they’ve got to sort of just barrel through.
“It’s almost like they’re constructing their team as if Deshaun Watson isn’t a part of it,” she continues. “They’ve gotta move forward here and find the answer. Because I do think the fan base will forgive. If they hit on a quarterback and this young guy comes out and, let’s just say, beats Deshaun in camp and the Browns head to the playoffs next year with a rookie quarterback? I think there will be some forgiveness.”
Would McMillan Be a Good Pick?
It’d be tough to justify if the Cleveland Browns don’t draft a quarterback or Hunter. McMillan is a very good player and proved that during his time with Arizona, posting 1,319 yards on 81 receptions in 2024.
While he’s expected to have a successful NFL career, why not just take Hunter at that point and let him play both sides of the football?
The Browns’ decisions won’t be easy, but drafting McMillan would raise many question marks.
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