If you’ve paid any attention in recent weeks to noise around Shedeur Sanders’ stock heading into this draft, you’d think that the Colorado quarterback did something terribly wrong in a pre-draft interview or looked bad in the very controlled pro day hosted by Colorado.
But, none of the above has happened. Sanders has simply fallen victim to a painfully drawn out draft process, and he’s gone from an almost obvious pick at second or third overall to a potential 2nd round pick in what feels like just a few weeks.
There’s always been questions about Sanders’ athleticism and ability to stay out of trouble in the pocket, but he’s proven he’s ridiculously accurate as a passer and can tough out plays to drag his team down the field. But, while that was once endearing, it seems that teams now find it to be concerning.
And, that likely includes the Cleveland Browns, who are reportedly not likely to look at Sanders at 2nd overall in the first round.
That’s what The Athletic and Dane Brugler seem to take into consideration with his latest 7-round mock draft.
Browns snag Jaxson Dart as quarterback of the future in latest mock draft
Dart ends up the Browns’ quarterback pick in the draft in Brugler’s latest mock draft, but at 33rd overall in the 2nd round. Dart seems to be getting the opposite treatment to Sanders as of late, though, so it’ll be interesting to see if he actually ends up getting taken way too early in the draft by a team desperate for a starter in 2025.
Interestingly, Brugler has Sanders falling, but not all the way to Round 2. He lands with the Pittsburgh Steelers in this mock draft, which makes you wonder if analysts are simply resigning to the fact that the weird Aaron Rodgers and Steelers “will they or won’t they” dynamic is beginning to fizzle out, with a feeling that Rodgers is definitely not heading over to Pennsylvania anytime soon.
Dart could be the perfect quarterback for Kevin Stefanski to mold. Stefanski’s only issue was being unable to help Deshaun Watson become a better quarterback, but Dart is coming in as one that operated best with a simplistic offense in place. That’s something Stefanski can likely accomplish for Dart, and he’d have Travis Hunter downfield helping him move the football in this scenario.
It feels like whoever the Browns take in this draft will get baptized by fire at some point this season. Joe Flacco, while still OK as a passer, is going to be 41 years old this season. He cannot be relied upon as the teams’ main starter in 2025. If Kenny Pickett cannot prove himself as a better backup, then someone like Dart needs to be ready to start a few game