Absurdly early Browns QB rankings has Shedeur Sanders first, Deshaun Watson last

Give me something to believe in.

A classic 1990 rock-ballad song from Poison, but also the mantra for Cleveland Browns fans to find a franchise quarterback that can take them to the playoffs, and if one would truly dare to dream, the Super Bowl.

The tortured NFL franchise, which has never been to the Super Bowl, has the most ridiculously crowded quarterbacks room in the entire league. Currently on their roster competing for the starting job are four quarterbacks.

Shedeur Sanders — Jeff Lange / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Beloved veteran Joe Flacco, who won a Super Bowl with the Baltimore Ravens and revitalized his career with Cleveland in 2023, remarkably leading them to the playoffs, has returned.

Kenny Pickett, the former first-round pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers, who was admirable in backup-duty for the Philadelphia Eagles behind Jalen Hurts, winning a Super Bowl last season was traded to the Browns. Picketti is still only 26.

Then this is where the real hype ratchets up exponentially.

Dillon Gabriel, Joe Flacco — Jeff Lange / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Dillon Gabriel, the former Oregon Ducks and Oklahoma Sooners star, was drafted in the third round by the Browns to presumably compete for the starting job under QB guru head coach Kevin Stefanski.

Then the most hyped fifth-round pick of all time, Shedeur Sanders, fell to the Browns and gave the fanbase a jolt of adrenaline never seen before out of the 144th overall selection.

So while the Sports Illustrated's NFL experts, especially MMQB senior writer Albert Breer, have you covered for the in-depth analysis, we have you covered from the simple hype perspective.

Who do Browns and NFL fans want to see as Cleveland's QB1?

5. Deshaun Watson

Yep, that's right. You thought we forgot about the $230 million, fully guaranteed franchise killing disaster.

It's hard to imagine the 29-year-old former Clemson national champion would ever escape last place, but the ex-Houston Texans three-time Pro Bowler still has aspirations to make a return in the 2025 season, consistently sharing comeback posts on his Instagram handle.

Not to mention the former first-round pick flexes that $230M in gaudy engagement photos with model, social media influencer, and aspiring Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model fiancée Jilly Anais.

4. Kenny Pickett

Kenny Pickett's family might be the only ones rooting for him to win the job.

ESPN Cleveland, who has gone viral for their daily QB tracker throw-by-throw for spring OTAs, says the ex-Steelers first-round pick is the "worst player at OTAs." Mind you, this is after three day of OTAs!

Pickett is still only 26 years old, and with a stacked Eagles offense last season, he almost beat the Washington Commanders and Jayden Daniels in mid-game relief duty, and played extremely well as a starter against the Dallas Cowboys in a blowout win before having to leave with a rib injury.

3. Dillon Gabriel

Speaking of getting crushed, The Athletic's Browns beat reporter gave Gabriel a scathing review. Again, after three days of spring OTAs.

"Dillon Gabriel does not look like an NFL quarterback to me," Zac Jackson said. "Like zero percent... I just don't think any other team was taking him in the top 100, or even the top 150."

Gabriel was the 94th pick overall, and of course it's not unusual for an NFL team to overreach for a QB, and Jackson caveats it.

"If I am wrong and the Cleveland Browns have their quarterback, that would be great. One of these years, I would love to cover a normal franchise and a rookie quarterback that sticks around for more than six to 18 months. But if it's Dillon Gabriel, I will be beyond shocked."

Ouch!

2. Joe Flacco

The 40 year old is like a security blanket for Browns fans, and probably at this point, gives them the best shot to return to the NFL playoffs since the 2023 season, when like we mentioned above, it was Flacco who led them there. And actually at the time, Cleveland was a sleeper pick to make a deep run. (They did not, losing to the Texans in a surprising blowout, 45-14.)

Breer loves Flacco's perspective.

“It really takes you back to when you were that 10-year-old kid and you had the dream of playing in the NFL," Flacco told Breer. "I don’t know, maybe sometimes the dream was super specific, winning a bunch of Super Bowls and all those things. But ultimately the dream was playing in the NFL. So I think I’ve kind of been reminded of that the last few years, that, Man, I’m in the NFL.”

Ironically, it was Flacco's locker room leadership that got him booted from Cleveland last time for Watson.

1. Shedeur Sanders

Much like it'll be nearly impossible for Watson to escape last place, the same can be said for the charismatic ex-Colorado NIL superstar not to be No. 1 on the hype list as long as he remains healthy.

Dad Deion Sanders admits the pre-draft reports "did hurt" his draft stock, but much like Tom Brady, Coach Prime believes the 23 year old will use it as motivation to prove all of the doubters wrong.

Brady has seven Super Bowls.

If Sheduer came close to delivering even one for Browns, the hype train will all be worth it.

Again, we repeat, a lot can change over a week of spring OTAs. Let the hype rankings begin!

Shedeur Sanders, Dillon Gabriel — Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

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