Cleveland Browns Quarterbacks Just Dodged a Major Draft-Day Bullet

The Cleveland Browns have continually floated throughout the offseason that they’d add another quarterback.

On Day 3 of the NFL Draft, that came to fruition as Browns general manager Andrew Berry selected Taylen Green with the first pick of the sixth-round.

According to Yahoo! Sports reporter Jori Epstein, who spent Round 1 in Cleveland’s draft room, the Browns were measuring the value of the quarterback prospects in the draft relative to their evaluations and expectations of the board.

When Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson was selected No. 13 overall by the Los Angeles Rams, the room gasped collectively, as Berry turned the page to other non-quarterback prospects.

“So we really focused, and particularly when Ty went off the board, we really focused on just the infrastructure around it, and we were really pleased with the players that we selected,” Berry said.

Shedeur Sanders, Deshaun Watson, Dillon Gabriel dodge draft day bullet

New Browns head coach Todd Monken has a personal relationship with Simpson. During his time as offensive coordinator at Georgia, Monken tried to recruit Simpson to Alabama’s SEC rival. The 60-year-old coach also has a personal relationship with Simpson’s father, Jason, who is a Southern Mississippi alumni, where Monken had served as a head coach.

Based on Epstein’s reporting on Simpson’s selection, it sounds like the Browns would have at least considered him with the No. 24 overall selection – if he would’ve made it that far.

Drafting Simpson in Round 1 would’ve put an end to the Sanders vs. Watson quarterback competition that’s expected to take place in training camp. Berry would’ve invested a first-round selection into a passer with a personal relationship with his new head coach. Even if Simpson wouldn’t have been named the Week 1 starter, it would have been inevitable that he’d take over at some point.

Obviously, that didn’t happen.

The Rams selected Simpson at No. 13 and the Browns escaped the NFL Draft in Pittsburgh with tremendous draft grades. Berry was able to select Texas A&M wide receiver KC Concepcion and Washington’s Denzel Boston to help reshape the offense.

This is great news for Sanders, Watson and Gabriel. Even though the Browns drafted Green, the 6-foot-4 quarterback struggled as a passer at Arkansas. He’s a developmental project that shouldn’t pose a threat to Cleveland’s starting quarterback battle. Monken’s Browns are likely only going to keep three quarterbacks on the active roster with one on the practice squad, which could be good news for Gabriel, who the team invested a third-round pick in last season.

Of course, the Browns could still make a trade for another quarterback like Anthony Richardson. Berry loaded up on 2027 fourth and fifth-round draft picks. They could also decide to trade Gabriel and upgrade the room with someone like Tanner McKee from the Philadelphia Eagles.

But passing on Simpson should buy Sanders, Watson – or a combination of both – one final opportunity with the Browns in 2026.

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