The Cleveland Browns stared down a tricky offseason before the end of the 2024 regular season. Almost immediately, the Browns were hit with adversity.
Having missed the majority of the 2024 season due to injury, quarterback Deshaun Watson tore his Achilles in January, putting his 2025 prospects in serious jeopardy.
Defensive star Myles Garrett then requested a trade from the team a month after the Watson news, citing his desire to compete for a championship. Following some back and forth between the two sides, the team eventually signed Garrett to the largest non quarterback extension in NFL history at the time.
Already strapped for cap space, the Browns dug themselves a deeper hole with that deal. While Garrett is the class of the league at his position, Cleveland had the opportunity to reel in future draft capital and offload some of the money in his previous deal.
Nonetheless, through bad luck along with some fault of their own, the Browns find themselves at an inflection point once again. More likely than not, they cannot flip the script entirely by next season, but they have some hope with where they will be drafting.
Cleveland holds the No. 2 overall pick and will have their choice of an elite player at the top of their draft board. The question is who that choice will be.
While there remains an abundance of defensive talent available early on, Bill Simmons believes the right choice is right in front of the Browns and they cannot afford to miss out.
"There’s been a lot of heartbreak with Cleveland sports these past 60 years, but passing on Sanders at #2 and opting for a Kenny Pickett/injured Deshaun Watson combo would be way up there," Simmons wrote on X.
There have been many questions surrounding Sanders heading into the draft and he has one of the widest ranges of potential selection arguably of any player in his class. Despite all his merits, there is some risk with taking him at No. 2 overall.
As Simmons notes, the potential quarterback alternatives for next season hold very little promise. If the hope is to return even remotely close to postseason contention, Pickett nor Watson are a viable solution.
Sanders does not guarantee that success either. However, there is at least a future in place with him under center and foundation to build around.
Regardless, the Browns find themselves in a challenging situation with the offseason underway and it has become paramount, whether they pick a quarterback or not, to hit on their first pick.
