Browns insider addresses latest Shedeur Sanders, Travis Hunter draft rumors

As recently as Tuesday morning, Cleveland Browns reporter Zac Jackson of The Athletic insisted that "there’s almost no chance" the club will select Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders over either Colorado wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter or Penn State pass-rusher Abdul Carter with the second pick of the 2025 NFL Draft after Sanders failed to impress some observers with his pro day performance. 

Later on Tuesday, Browns insider Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer indicated individuals within the organization haven't made a final call regarding a Sanders-versus-Hunter dilemma. 

"It really does seem like a two-horse race after the showcase," Cabot wrote about the Browns' thoughts on Sanders and Hunter coming off Colorado's pro day. "In the minds of many national media members, Hunter emerged as the Browns' clear-cut choice following the workout, but I still believe that Sanders is firmly in the mix."

While Browns general manager Andrew Berry and head coach Kevin Stefanski are reportedly high on offseason acquisition Kenny Pickett, Pickett hasn't yet shown he can be a long-term replacement for 2024 Week 1 starter Deshaun Watson. Many people around the league feel Watson has played his final in-game down with the Browns after he suffered a pair of serious Achilles injuries this past season. 

Somewhat interestingly, Cabot suggested that Colorado offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur could convince Stefanski to take a chance on Sanders at pick No. 2. 

"Before the (pro day) workout," Cabot explained, "Shurmur spent about 15 minutes talking to Kevin Stefanski on the sidelines, and would never steer him wrong. They’re too close for him to pump up Sanders if it weren’t warranted. In addition to Stefanski working under Shurmur in Minnesota when the latter was offensive coordinator there, Shurmur tried to hire Stefanski when he took the Giants head coaching job in 2018. But then Vikings coach Mike Zimmer wouldn’t let him go."

ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. is among the national analysts who think the Browns will take Hunter at No. 2 and then target a quarterback such as Ole Miss' Jaxson Dart, Alabama's Jalen Milroe or Louisville's Tyler Shough later in the draft. It sounds like Cleveland isn't all-in on going down that road just yet.

"It would be great to draft the Heisman Trophy winner at [pick No. 2] and then your quarterback of the future later in the first round or the second," Cabot added, "but all it takes is one team to make an unexpected pick to foil those plans. The Browns don’t plan to be picking this high again anytime soon, and general consensus seems to be that there are two top QBs in this draft in Cam Ward and Sanders, and then a significant drop-off."

Most reporters are now convinced the Tennessee Titans will make Ward the draft's first choice. 

As of Tuesday afternoon, DraftKings Sportsbook had the Browns fourth among the betting favorites at +750 odds to draft Sanders. Perhaps Berry and Co. are planning a draft-day surprise similar to how the Atlanta Falcons stunned many in the football community last spring when they spent a first-round pick on Michael Penix Jr. less than two months after they signed Kirk Cousins.