Power Ranking the Cleveland Browns Best Options at Quarterback in 2026

Since their return to the NFL, the Cleveland Browns have tried just about every possible avenue to solve their quarterback problem, and outside a brief run of success with Baker Mayfield that ended abruptly, they have rarely found a lasting solution.

It hasn't mattered how they have tried, from first overall picks to Round 1 reaches to mid-round flailing to perhaps the most ill-advised trade-and-extension combo imaginable. It has all ended in disappointment.

This wasn't the year to fix that problem in the long term, so the Browns didn't try—the team's only pick at the position didn't come until Round 6. They will roll into the summer with that Day 3 rookie, the two youngsters they drafted a year ago and the veteran the team mortgaged its future for in 2022.

It's not exactly the Fantastic Four.

Asking what the Browns will do is a dangerous proposition—the NFL equivalent of using a Ouija board in a cemetery on Friday the 13th. But we can ask what they should do by ranking the quartet, even if it's a question most fans won't want to hear the answer to.

4. Dillon Gabriel

AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki

Last year, Dillon Gabriel made six starts for the Browns as a rookie.

Fans of the team should hope there isn't a seventh.

To be fair, new Browns head coach Todd Monken told reporters he's been impressed by what he's seen from 5'11", 205-pound Gabriel so far:

"What I have liked with Dillon is the way he goes about his business. Very professional, highly intelligent, understands football, has a certain charisma about him and a confidence that's hard to create. He has it innate. You saw it throughout his career. You don't go to three different programs and have the success he had if he doesn't have a belief in himself."

On tape, though, Gabriel profiles more as a high-end backup or alternative-league starter than a clear NFL starter.

The 25-year-old is experienced. He doesn't rattle easily and could carve out a role as a backup. But even then, his lack of size and arm strength are real problems.

In 2025, Gabriel averaged 5.3 air yards per attempt, which would have ranked dead last in the league if he had enough attempts to qualify—behind the likes of Spencer Rattler and J.J. McCarthy.

The Oregon product completed less than 60 percent of his passes, never threw for 225 yards in a game and posted a QBR of 31.4. His bad throw percentage of 19.3 would have ranked 31st in the NFL.

That Cleveland spent a third-round pick on Gabriel is hard to justify. But it's done—a sunk cost. If a UFL team such as Birmingham comes calling, the Browns should strongly consider it.

3. Taylen Green

AP Photo/Butch Dill

If Taylen Green makes any starts as a rookie this year, then one of two things has happened: Either the 23-year-old has had the best camp in the history of camping, or things in Cleveland have come completely off the rails again.

Green's physical traits are wildly impressive and are what got him drafted by the Browns this year. He has an NFL frame at 6'6" and 237 pounds, and he blew the roof off the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine with a 4.36-second 40-yard dash, 43½" vertical and 11'2" broad jump—historic numbers for a quarterback.

Monken told reporters the Browns have a plan for the Arkansas product:

"Certainly, when you have a player with those kinds of traits, when can you utilize those? Obvious reasons—short yardage, goal line, four-minute, critical times when you've got to be able to run the ball and the defense is going to have an extra element in the box, having an athletic quarterback can be critical to having success. So, if he's able to do that, then we'll certainly put him in a position if we think that can help us win a game for sure."

However, Monken's comments focused entirely on his rushing value, not his development as a passer.

Green is ridiculously athletic and absolutely worth a sixth-round flier for a team without a long-term solution under center. But he's beyond raw as a passer—he barely completed 60 percent of his passes in college and threw 35 interceptions over four seasons at Boise State and Arkansas.

The potential is there, but Green is best served spending his rookie season throwing passes on the practice field rather than in meaningful games.

2. Shedeur Sanders

AP Photo/Jeff Dean

In fairness to Shedeur Sanders, Browns general manager Andrew Berry told reporters that the Colorado product made strides in his first full NFL offseason:

"I think [Shedeur Sanders] had a really nice offseason. He did a really nice job at voluntary minicamp. I think his improvements in decision-making and pocket management by the end of the year and what we've seen so far in a very short spring have been positive. I expect him to have more command of the offense and better ball security and situational awareness as we go into Year 2."

Those comments are encouraging, but Sanders still does not look like the long-term answer in Cleveland. Despite the pre-draft hype, he has never consistently profiled as a franchise quarterback, and that perception has often seemed stronger outside the building than within it.

The Pro Bowl nod and the attention around his surname do not change the underlying evaluation. Sanders slipped to the fifth round for a reason: he has yet to consistently see the field well, and pressure tends to exacerbate those problems.

The 24-year-old completed less than 57 percent of his passes in seven starts for the Browns last year. He threw 10 interceptions as opposed to just seven touchdowns. His success percentage was barely better than Dillon Gabriel's, and his QBR was significantly worse.

And never mind the supporting cast—among qualifying quarterbacks last year, Sanders' on-target percentage beat only McCarthy's. That level of inaccuracy is a problem regardless of who the intended target is.

Does Sanders have a higher NFL ceiling than Gabriel? Yes. But that still does not make him look like a particularly credible option as a long-term NFL starter right now.

1. Deshaun Watson

AP Photo/David Dermer

And here we are. Pitchforks and torches time.

It's understandable. The only human being who wants to erase the Deshaun Watson era from their mind more than the entire Browns fanbase is GM Andrew Berry.

The trade that brought Watson to Cleveland and the five-year, $230 million fully guaranteed deal the Browns gave him is in the conversation for the worst transaction in NFL history.

But Watson still gives the Browns the best chance to win in 2026.

Back at the NFL Scouting Combine, Monken told reporters that he intended to give Watson, who missed last season with a torn Achilles, a fair shot to win the starting job.

"I think that anytime that you have a player that at one time has exhibited the skillset at an elite level, you're always going to give them the benefit of the doubt that somehow we're going to be able to get that out of him," Monken said.

Now, Watson is reportedly already taking more first-team reps than Sanders and has emerged as the leader to enter camp as the No. 1 quarterback. He should.

Yes, Watson's time in Cleveland has fallen dramatically short of expectations so far, but that isn't Monken's problem. His job is to win games.

And in his 19 starts for the Browns, Watson has posted a higher completion percentage, more air yards per attempt, a better success rate and a far higher on-target percentage than Sanders.

Even the diminished version of Deshaun Watson that Cleveland has seen so far has been a better NFL quarterback than Sanders. At his peak, Watson was arguably a top-five NFL quarterback and led the league in passing yards. Even a diminished version of that player would still be an upgrade over what Sanders has shown so far, and Watson is still only 30 years old.

Watson should start if he's healthy, even if that sets up a quintessentially Cleveland offseason in 2027 with his contract set to expire.