The Cleveland Browns are cooking to start the 2026 NFL Draft — and it may be hard to find a happier man than Shedeur Sanders right now.
With their three top-40 selections, the Browns added a potential cornerstone offensive tackle in Utah’s Spencer Fano, and two of the first seven wide receivers off the board in Texas A&M’s KC Concepcion and Washington’s Denzel Boston.
Just about every expert mock draft had the Browns going offensive tackle and wide receiver on Day 1, before turning to defense on Day 2. But GM Andrew Berry made a loud statement at pick No. 39 overall, and Sanders’ ears should be ringing.
Cleveland selected Boston while staring down some defensive stalwarts on the big board. The Browns passed on Toledo safety Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, Oklahoma pass rusher R Mason Thomas, and Texas Tech linebacker Jacob Rodriguez, to name a few, with an eye on doubling down at wide receiver.
What the Browns didn’t do is spend a premium draft pick on Miami’s Carson Beck or any other quarterback — clearing the decks for Sanders to take full advantage of a golden opportunity.
Shedeur Sanders is quietly in the best position of his career
Sanders found a way to start seven games in 2025 despite tumbling to the fifth round of the draft and entering training camp as the fourth quarterback on the Browns’ depth chart. By the time he made his NFL debut in Week 11, the offensive line was ravaged by injuries and the skill position group was down to mostly rookies.
To Sanders’ credit, he never complained or made excuses. He’s now in position to benefit from the team’s all-in approach to both solidify the offensive line and infuse young talent into the wide receiver room.
He’ll first have to beat out veteran Deshaun Watson, and while there’s been plenty of buzz around the eighth-year pro enjoying an offseason resurgence, he hasn’t thrown a real NFL pass since midway through the 2024 season, and is attempting to come back from a twice-ruptured Achilles tendon entering his age-31 season.
Barring a major letdown, this should be Sanders’ time to shine. The team has officially passed on adding any real external competition to the quarterback room, and he now has a pair of highly skilled, complementary receivers to pair with breakout candidate Isaiah Bond and veteran Jerry Jeudy (if he doesn’t get traded).
It’s way too early to throw around draft “grades” until the players get on the field for real this summer. But on paper? The Browns are on the path to landing another impressive rookie class, and Sanders is by far the biggest winner of the first two rounds.