BEREA, Ohio -- The intrigue around the Cleveland Browns' quarterback situation continues to rise with the 2025 NFL draft about three weeks away.
The first wave of free agency has passed and Cleveland has made only one move for a passer: trading for Kenny Pickett, who spent last season as the backup to Jalen Hurts with the Philadelphia Eagles. Pickett joins Deshaun Watson, who is expected to miss a significant portion of the 2025 season after re-tearing his right Achilles tendon, as the only quarterbacks in a group that still needs of an upgrade.
Meanwhile, Browns decision-makers have visited pro days across the country as they evaluate this year's class and they have been heavily involved with quarterbacks. The team held a private workout last week with former University of Miami quarterback Cam Ward. Head coach Kevin Stefanski, general manager Andrew Berry and owner Jimmy Haslam were among those in attendance.
With the second pick in the draft, Cleveland, barring a trade, will have its choice of one of the two players widely regarded as the class' top quarterbacks, Ward and Colorado's Shedeur Sanders. But with the increasing likelihood that the Tennessee Titans keep the No. 1 pick and select Ward, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported last week that Penn State edge rusher Abdul Carter is "trending" to be the Browns' pick at No. 2.
If the Browns bypass a quarterback with their first pick, the team could select a passer on Day 2, when it holds picks 33, 67 and 94. But can Cleveland find a potential 2025 starter -- and possible future franchise quarterback -- outside of the first round? Here's a look at possible Day 2 quarterbacks the Browns could target.
Jaxson Dart
A three-year starter at Ole Miss after transferring from USC, Dart completed 69.3% of his passes for 4,279 yards and threw 29 touchdowns with six interceptions last season. Dart, 6-foot-2 and 223 pounds, led college football in yards per attempt (10.75) and yards per dropback (9.58) and was tied with Ward for the most completions of 20-plus yards (74).
Despite Dart's gaudy college numbers, there are concerns about the offense he played in at Ole Miss -- a spread approach that often left receivers wide open -- and how it translates to the NFL.
However, one NFL quarterbacks coach who has evaluated Dart downplayed those worries.
"I don't think I really have many concerns just because he's shown tools that he can make throws at all three levels of the field," the quarterbacks coach said. "So, once you show that you can do that, then it's just a matter of what he can or can't grasp in terms of the density of the playbook. ... He can't control what he's being asked to do. He has the physical tools to be a good quarterback."
Browns special teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone got an up-close look at Dart as head coach of the Senior Bowl's American Team, which included Alabama's Jalen Milroe (more on him next).
ESPN draft analyst Matt Miller's latest seven-round mock draft projects the Los Angeles Rams taking Dart with the 26th pick.
Jalen Milroe
Milroe is widely considered the best dual-threat quarterback in this year's class. At Alabama's Pro Day, Milroe, 6-foot-2 and 217 pounds, ran a 40-yard dash in the 4.4-second range. In 13 games last season, he threw for 2,844 yards, 16 touchdowns and 11 interceptions but also ran for 726 yards and 20 touchdowns.
The major question -- and projection -- is Milroe's effectiveness as a passer. His 78.4 Total QBR, which includes rushing plays, ranked 16th in the country, but Milroe's interception rate (3.4%) was 105th out of 124 qualifying passers.
"What scares me about Milroe is just the arm talent. It's super inconsistent," the quarterbacks coach said. "Sometimes, he makes some wild throws and then sometimes, he's missing 5-yard hitches, sailing them over the guy's head. ... The athleticism is off the charts, but you can only do so much."
An AFC area scout who has evaluated Milroe praised his growth in two seasons as the Crimson Tide's starting quarterback and compared his character to Hurts, who also starred at Alabama.
"He's got all that stuff to reach whatever his ceiling may be," the scout said.
But the scout, as well as the quarterbacks coach, said the team that drafts Milroe will need a patient and dedicated plan to nurture him as a passer, while also building a scheme that accentuates his speed, agility and elusiveness. The Browns have a bit of additional insight into Milroe with first-year offensive coordinator Tommy Rees, who served as Milroe's OC in the 2023 season.
"I'd do the same thing Baltimore did with Lamar [Jackson]," the scout said. "They adapted to him and fit their offense around him. And over the course of however many years Lamar's been there, seven, eight years, Lamar obviously is an MVP, so I think he's just naturally progressed at being a passer, being a quarterback, however you want to put it, being a game manager. All those factors play into being a good quarterback."
At the NFL scouting combine in February, Berry and Stefanski spoke about being open to different styles of quarterbacks in their search for a starter.
"Maybe 10 years ago, you wouldn't necessarily have a guy playing those styles that [Patrick] Mahomes or Josh Allen or even Lamar would play, where a lot of the top guys were really more your traditional pocket passers," Berry said. "I think now with how offensive football has evolved and quite honestly how the college game has trended, it certainly does maybe open up the aperture, so to speak, of players that will be successful quarterbacks."
Tyler Shough
Shough is one of the more interesting prospects because of his age; he turns 26 a month into the 2025 season. He had a seven-year college career that started at Oregon -- he was Justin Herbert's backup -- and was upended because of multiple season-ending injuries. Shough broke his collarbone four games into his first season at Texas Tech in 2021, re-broke his collarbone the next season and then broke his fibula in his final year with the Red Raiders.
The quarterbacks coach said Shough's lengthy injury history wouldn't be a red flag for teams, attributing the missed time to "freak accidents" as opposed to soft tissue ailments that could linger during a player's career.
Shough, 6-5 and 219 pounds, transferred to Louisville after the 2023 season, remained healthy and had his most productive campaign, setting career highs in passing yards (3,195) and touchdown passes (23) along with just six interceptions.
"He just has had to deal with a lot of adversity, has overcome it, and the arm talent, I think, is great," the quarterbacks coach said. "He's a smart kid, but again, it's just his maturity. He's going to be able to step into any locker room and be able to function. He's smart enough to pick up any playbook and the arm talent is good and he's athletic enough to be featured in situational instances like third down, red zone, four minute if you need to win a game."
With limited game reps because of injuries, the coach said Shough, as well as many of the other prospects who enter the league, will have to work on playing under pressure and navigating unclean pockets.
"A lot of these guys don't have to be [uncomfortable in the pocket] because the pass rush is not what it is in the league," the coach said. "They get to sit back at 8, 9 yards in the pocket and kind of drift backwards. Whereas in the NFL, you got to move up into the heart of the pocket because the offensive tackle is not athletic enough physically."
Miller's seven-round mock draft has the Browns selecting Shough with the No. 33 overall pick. The QB coach said it would not be a surprise to see Shough or Dart sneak into the back of the first round.
"I think they could be low-level starters in the NFL ... I don't know if I would call them franchise quarterbacks, but I would say they're a level below," the coach said.
