NFL Draft Analyst Says This Potential Second Round Quarterback Tied to Browns

When it comes to dictating when the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft will actually begin, the growing majority of football fans are starting to convince themselves it all starts at pick No. 2 with the Cleveland Browns.

The true first overall selection might belong to the Tennessee Titans, but almost everyone firmly believes they have their choice set in stone with just two weeks left in Miami quarterback Cam Ward, the consensus top gunslinger prospect in this year’s class.

After that, the guessing game truly starts once the clock turns over to the Browns, who don’t seem to have a concrete favorite projected for them in the second slot.

Then there are the Giants, whose pick at No. 3 could very well hinge upon what Cleveland elects to do. It seems to be a choice between one of the top two prospects, Abdul Carter and Travis Hunter, or a quarterback.

Both franchises were heavily represented at the Colorado showcase in Boulder last Friday to watch quarterback Shedeur Sanders and Hunter perform for likely the final time as college teammates.

The outing left the impression that the Browns were enamored by the hybrid cornerback/wide receiver's skill set and could lean towards taking him to add a dual-threat weapon to their roster.

That would presumably leave the Giants with their choice of Penn State edge rusher Carter or Sanders, the latter whom they’ve closely scouted throughout the draft process in search of a franchise arm for the future.

The Giants just haven’t acted like they have their eyes fixed on a passing player that high, and instead, they could fall on the best guy available in round one.

Should the Giants be that risky, though? If they went with Carter to round out the top three, the idea would likely be to stave off finding an arm until the second round, or at best, via a sudden trade back into the basement of the first 32 picks to make a play on Sanders, if he is still available, or a guy like Alabama’s Jalen Milroe.

Playing the long game with the helm might not be wise, according to NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah. Jeremiah spoke on the Up and Adams show and shared that the Browns are starting to eye that very same possibility in their own quest for a franchise savior.

More specifically, they could grab Hunter first and then attempt to move back up the board from their No. 33 pick in round two to steal Milroe and leave one less prospect hanging around for later suitors like New York.

“One of the teams I have heard him connected to is Cleveland,” - @MoveTheSticks on Jalen Milroe 👀👀👀 pic.twitter.com/JahBk8ukG2
— ESPN Cleveland (@ESPNCleveland) April 7, 2025

There have also been reports from insider Jordan Schultz (via Bleacher Report) that the Browns were among a couple of teams that held a private workout with Milroe after his recent pro day in Tuscaloosa. According to sources of the teams that viewed him, the word from those workouts was “very impressive. "

Adams and Jeremiah mentioned that Milroe will also attend the draft festivities in Green Bay on April 24th, a strange sign for a prospect whom many believe won’t hear his name called and be dragged out of the green room until the onset of the second night.

Could the appearance signify the possibility that a team like Cleveland strikes a deal to jump back into the first round and pull off that quarterback?

The gap between Ward and the rest of the quarterbacks in this thin class, including Ole Miss Jaxson Dart and Louisville’s Tyler Shough, is very much in that realm of outcomes for delayed action.

If Sanders doesn’t go off the board before the top three picks are over, some people think he could slide to anywhere between the 9th pick (Saints) and the 21st pick (Steelers).

That has created some new recent mock outcomes where the Giants bounce over Pittsburgh to pursue Sanders after they land their elite defensive prospect, preferably Hunter, with their first turn at No. 3.

That could get tricky if the Browns jump the gun and convince a team like the Broncos to tango on a trade exchange first. If Denver partners with the other side, the Browns could just as equally assume that new spot and steal their novice, which Jeremiah is convinced is Milroe but could even be the Colorado prospect.

There is also no guarantee that Dart, who has risen up draft boards in the last month of the offseason, will make it out of the late phase of round one, with other teams like the New York Jets (No. 7) and Los Angeles Rams (No. 26) keeping tabs on the early quarterback results.

It’s not to say the Giants should freak out over this possibility, as perhaps a team like Denver will choose their share of assets over Cleveland’s in a potential trade war. Still, that’s not what Joe Schoen should want to get into with his future assets, especially if he doesn’t view this quarterback class as worthy of tying his name to any of them.

There is also no chance he will have the power to pick his player next year. He and Brian Daboll are still on thin ice with team ownership ahead of the 2025 season, and another bad outcome could send the two of them packing after three consecutive losing campaigns.

As the draft gets closer, this is something the Giants will definitely need to monitor if they still are pondering the idea of landing one of the slim pickings from the 2025 draft class. Ultimately, it’s still their biggest unfulfilled priority set forth by John Mara after the abysmal scene this past fall.

Should this situation with the Cleveland Browns gain more traction and other quarterback suitors jump into the fold before that, the Giants could be left sitting on their hands with no answer for the future after Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston do their best to maintain the present structure in East Rutherford.

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