The 2025 NFL Draft is quikly approaching and with each day that goes by, more and more pundits try to predict what college players teams will pick. The top of the first round is of particular interest as Miami quarterback Cam Ward appears to be locked into the No. 1 spot for the Tennessee Titans. What happens next with the Cleveland Browns with the next selection, however, is a massive guessing game.
General manager Andrew Berry will still have a first-round QB available, presumably Colorado's Shedeur Sanders. But he'll also have so-called generational talents in Heisman Trophy-winner Travis Hunter and Penn State DE Abdul Carter to choose from.
Despite trading for signal caller Kenny Pickett from the Philadelphia Eagles, Berry will have to decide if it's time to move on from 2024 starter Deshaun Watson. The answer seems clear but when Berry pulls the trigger on the next franchise QB is tougher to pin down.
NFL executives think Browns could skip at QB in 2025 draft and tank for Arch Manning
Berry's peers are weighing in on what he might be thinking of doing from his team's war room on April 24. The opinions vary but the common theme is striking: The Browns might actually tank for Texas sophomore Arch Manning.
“It’s such a weak quarterback draft and free-agency class at the position,” one NFL executive told The Athletic's Mike Sando. “Is there a temptation to suck for Arch Manning?”
“Are they drafting or tanking?” another executive asked. “If you are tanking, then you would be down to one year left on Deshaun [Watson]. I’m sure they are like, ‘Hey, Joe Flacco got us to the playoffs and we can do whatever.'”
Even if Berry's strategy is to pass on a rookie in the 2025 draft, his peers aren't convinced a move to acquire a veteran starter via trade like Atlanta's Kirk Cousins would be a viable option.
“[Head coach Kevin] Stefanski knows [Cousins], but I cannot see them going with another guy who is older and injured,” a separate executive said. “Not that Deshaun is old, but he never got going.”
“This offseason, what veteran quarterback is there in free agency where you are like, ‘Oh, I feel much better about having this guy on my roster compared to the unknown?'” a different executive told Sando. “If your options are what Cleveland is doing or what the Giants did, that doesn’t make me excited.”
At the end of the day, there isn't even a definitive projection that Manning will be declaring for the NFL Draft in 2026. If the Browns' front office is aiming for that hypothetical, it could be a serious gamble on their careers.
“You are not guaranteed Arch Manning is going to come out, or that he will agree to go to Cleveland, so my guess is they draft a quarterback this year,” another executive said.
Until April 24th, the conjecture and speculation will just continue to swirl. Only Berry knows what the team is going to do that night but one thing is for sure, that decision could seriously alter the future of the franchise and his legacy.