Shedeur Sanders Reportedly Still Eyed by Browns amid Abdul Carter, Travis Hunter Buzz

The turning point in the early picks of the 2025 NFL draft may come with the Cleveland Browns at No. 2 overall, as there is reportedly still plenty of uncertainty regarding what the AFC North team will do later this month.

"The Browns have been very mysterious throughout this entire process," ESPN's Jeremy Fowler said during a Sunday appearance on SportsCenter. "I do believe GM Andrew Berry is liking that, you know, that sort of mystery here around the Browns and what they could do because they looked at a bevy of options. 

"So, I do know this, they've spent a lot of time with Abdul Carter, the pass rusher out of Penn State. They've gotten to know him very well. He has definitely felt the love from the Browns at every level of the organization getting to know a lot of those people. So, I do believe he's in strong consideration. There also is some buzz of late about Travis Hunter and that dynamic with him being so good and showing himself as a receiver at his pro day. 

"The Browns are one of the teams that look at him as a wide receiver. So those two players are under consideration, they're on the short list, as is Shedeur Sanders. I'm told they are still considering him, even though there isn't a lot of momentum for him to go No. 2 overall right now, at least talking to people around the league."

That Cleveland would at least be looking at Sanders comes as no surprise, as it is among the most unsettled teams in the league at the quarterback position given Deshaun Watson's poor play and injury status.

Watson ruptured his Achilles again, which leaves his status for 2025 very much up in the air. While Cleveland traded for Kenny Pickett this offseason, that doesn't exactly inspire much confidence in a division that also features Joe Burrow and Lamar Jackson.

While Sanders could help provide stability and a bright future under center for the Browns, the front office may just believe in Carter or Hunter more as potential franchise building blocks for years to come.

Hunter won the Heisman Trophy as a two-way player who excelled as a wide receiver and cornerback, while the idea of Carter and Myles Garrett rushing the passer together is surely a terrifying one for opposing offensive lines.

Carter would likely see plenty of single blockers in front of him as a rookie given all the attention Garrett receives, which could set the stage for a double-digit sack season in his rookie campaign.

B/R's NFL Scouting Department projected Cleveland to select Carter with the No. 2 pick in its most recent mock draft with Miami's Cam Ward going No. 1 to the Tennessee Titans, Hunter going No. 3 to the New York Giants and Sanders going No. 9 to the New Orleans Saints.