Browns pass on Deshaun Watson replacement in The Athletic's latest NFL mock draft

When the Cleveland Browns sold the farm to acquire former Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson ahead of the 2022 NFL season, they certainly didn't expect to be in the position they find themselves now. Sure, Watson arrived in Northeast Ohio with plenty of troubling baggage and he had sat out for the entire 2021 season, but when Watson last played, he led the NFL in passing yards and had a 33-to-7 touchdown to interception ratio.

Watson's collapse in Cleveland has since been well-documented. He's 9-10 as the Browns starting quarterback and doesn't remotely look like the guy he once did in Houston. It's been so bad that Browns fans even booed Watson after he suffered a season-ending achilles tear earlier this season. If there was even a sliver of doubt left that the Browns could salvage this situation, it died then. And now, with the offseason approaching, it's clearer than ever that Browns need a new plan at quarterback.

The Browns could choose to address this plan in the 2025 NFL Draft, where they'll pick 2nd overall. In Dane Brugler's most recent 2025 mock draft for The Athletic, he's projected that the Tennessee Titans will select Miami Hurricanes quarterback Cam Ward with the 1st overall pick this April. That leaves the Browns in a position where they could select Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders, considered by many to be the best quarterback prospect in this year's draft.

However, Brugler sees the Browns zagging, passing on a QB, and instead selecting Penn State edge rusher Abdul Carter, bolstering a defense that cratered in 2024.

“It’s likely that Deshaun Watson has played his final snap for the Cleveland Browns,” writes Brugler, “so a quarterback certainly will be on the table here. But I don’t expect Cleveland to force the pick if the right fit isn’t there. Carter playing opposite Myles Garrett would be a scary thought for opposing offenses.”

There are a few things to consider here:

First, the Browns could address their need at quarterback in free agency. Sam Darnold has already been linked to Cleveland, and given how he played in Minnesota's final two games of the season, they can likely get him a little cheaper than they anticipated three weeks ago. Seven years ago, when Darnold was coming into the NFL out of USC, he was considered the favorite to be selected 1st overall by the Cleveland Browns right up until the 11th hour when Cleveland selected Baker Mayfield instead.

Cheaper short-term options — think Justin Fields, Joe Flacco, Mac Jones — would allow Cleveland to defer selecting a quarterback in the NFL Draft until 2026, when they could have their choice of intriguing signal-callers such as Arch Manning, Drew Allar, Garrett Nussmeier, Nico Iamaleava or LaNorris Sellers.

And then there's the possibility that the Browns could take their shot at quarterback later in the draft. Notable names such as Jalen Milroe, Quinn Ewers, Kyle McCord, Kurtis Rourke and Jaxson Dart, among others, are all expected to be available on the second and third days of the NFL Draft.