Former Eagles Starter, First Round Pick in ‘QB Apocalypse’ in AFC North

Even though it’s been less than 2 months since the Philadelphia Eagles traded quarterback Kenny Pickett to the Cleveland Browns, it might as well have been a lifetime as far as Pickett is concerned.

Since Pickett was traded to the Browns on March 10 in exchange for quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson and a 2025 fifth round pick, Cleveland’s quarterback room has undergone perhaps the most widely-publicized overhaul in NFL history.

For Pickett, a first round pick by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2022, getting to Cleveland represents a chance to become an NFL starter once again. To everyone else in the football world, what’s happened with the Browns over the last 2 months amounts to nothing short of a Quarterback Apocalypse.

Since trading for Pickett, the Browns have added 3 more quarterbacks who all seem like they could earn roster spots in veteran free agent Joe Flacco and a pair of NFL draft picks in Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel in the third round (No. 94 overall) and Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders in the fifth round (No. 144 overall) — football’s version of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

That’s not to mention Deshaun Watson, who is still due $92 million in guaranteed money over the next 2 seasons as part of the 5-year, $230 million fully guaranteed contract extension he signed in March 2022.

Pickett Clear About Goal to Start in Cleveland

Days after the Browns brought in Flacco to compete with Pickett for the starting job, he sent a clear message he’s not backing down from anyone.

Pickett was a reliable backup option in his one season with the Eagles backing up Super Bowl MVP Jalen Hurts, even starting one game late in the season.

“That’s the plan, man (to start),” Pickett told The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review’s Jerry DiPaola on April 12. “I’m not going there to hang out. I want to go play. I’m excited, been working hard for it, taking it a day at a time … Total respect for Joe, what he’s done and I’m excited to get to work with him, too.”

That was before the Browns drafted 2 quarterbacks, meaning there’s going to be an odd man out in 2025. Watson will almost certainly spend 2025 on injured reserve after he tore his Achilles tendon in Week 7 of the 2024 regular season then re-ruptured the tendon and required a second surgery in January.

Flacco, a former Super Bowl MVP with the Baltimore Ravens, was named NFL Comeback Player of the Year in 2023 with the Browns after he came in for an injured Watson and went 4-1 in 5 starts and made the playoffs. Gabriel led Oregon to an undefeated regular season in 2024 and was a Heisman Trophy finalist.

Sanders, the son of Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, was projected as a first round pick after earning Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year honors in 2024 before dropping to the fifth round — which ended up being one of the biggest stories in NFL draft history.

Pickett Still Favorite to Start for Eagles

While Pickett is just a shade over one year older than Gabriel, he’s already headed into his fourth NFL season and has to be considered the favorite to be the starter for the Browns when they open the 2025 regular season.

DraftKings has Pickett at +130 odds to be the Game 1 starter for the Browns, which is just slightly ahead of Flacco (+160), followed by Sanders (+300) and Gabriel (+1000).