Miami's Cam Ward enters the draft season as the No. 1-ranked quarterback, according to many, with Colorado's Shedeur Sanders rated close behind. The Browns have to scout both players meticulously to decide what to do with their No. 2 overall pick in the April 24 draft.
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland. He has covered the Browns since 1984.
For the first time since 2018, the Browns are in the business of scouting quarterbacks in the draft.
They got here by making the decision, unofficially, to turn the page on Deshaun Watson.
Watson recently suffered a setback in his recovery from Achilles tendon surgery. The club has not given an update or a timetable for Watson’s return to the field. A second surgery has not been ruled out by the Browns.
Prior to the injury setback, the Browns restructured so-called “dummy years” at the back end of Watson’s deal to facilitate lower salary cap charges when they formally separate from him. This could happen as early as March of 2026.
At the same time, the Browns have stated no plans to re-sign Jameis Winston, who will be a free agent in March.
“I think the reality of it is that [quarterback] room will look different next year,” Berry said at his season-ending press conference this week.
It is expected that next year’s quarterback room will include a veteran acquisition and a rookie selected, in all likelihood, through means of their first two draft picks at No. 2 and No. 33 overall.
Whether the Browns pass on a quarterback at No. 2, or trade down to acquire extra picks, it appears unlikely that they wouldn’t select one on the first or second day of the draft.
So the hunt is on, and Berry said he and his staff are up to speed on what lies ahead.
“Yeah, we’re in a good spot,” he said. “We always work ahead with the draft process. It’s like a year-and-a-half thing for us. We’ve obviously finished up the college scouting season now that almost all the college games are done.
“Obviously, we have the College Football Playoff and everything, and our scouts are really gearing up for the all-star games that are coming up at the end … or some that have already started, and then the major ones that are coming up at the end of the month. So, we feel like we’re in a good spot.
“Obviously, we’ve got a long way to go before we know the draft class intimately, but fortunately, those are decisions that we won’t have to make until the end of April.”
The path to selecting a quarterback high in the draft is a winding one that will take Berry, his scouts, ownership, coach Kevin Stefanski, and perhaps a new offensive coordinator along a route they have not traveled together before.
The names
The draft-eligible quarterbacks they will be scouting include:
Cam Ward of Miami, Shedeur Sanders of Colorado, Jalen Milroe of Alabama, Carson Beck of Georgia, Dillon Gabriel of Oregon, Quinn Ewers of Texas, Jaxson Dart of Mississippi, Drew Allar of Penn State, Riley Leonard of Notre Dame, Kurtis Rourke of Indiana, Will Howard of Ohio State, and Kyle McCord of Syracuse.
Four of the quarterbacks made it to the semifinals of the CFP playoffs.
Allar and his Penn State team opposed Leonard and Notre Dame in Thursday’s first semifinal game. Allar has said he intends to return to Penn State, but there are two deadlines ahead for any player to change his mind and enter the 2025 draft – January 15 for players on non-playoff teams and January 24 for players participating in the CFP championship game on January 20.
Ewers and Howard will square off in the Texas v. Ohio State semifinal game on Friday.
The all-star games
The highest-rated quarterbacks don't always participate in the all-star games. None usually plays in more than one. But several already have committed to participating.
Sanders has accepted an invitation to the Shrine Bowl.
The Senior Bowl has received RSVPs from Milroe, Leonard, Howard, Dart, and Gabriel.
Here is the schedule of games that draw scouts, GMs and some coaches from every NFL team.
* Hula Bowl, January 11, in FBC Mortgage Stadium, Orlando, FL.
* East-West Shrine Bowl, January 30, in AT&T Stadium, Arlington, TX.
* Reese’s Senior Bowl, February 1, in Hancock Whitney Stadium, Mobile, AL.
* HBCU Legacy Bowl, February 22, in Yulman Stadium, New Orleans, LA.
The NFL Combine
All the top quarterbacks will attend the NFL Combine, though there will be those who opt not to throw or possibly do other physical drills.
They do attend, however, to undergo medical exams and be interviewed by NFL team personnel. This event, along with the Senior Bowl, is when NFL coaches generally get their first exposures to the top prospects.
The Combine is held February 24 through March 3 in Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, IN.
The pro days
College football programs schedule pro days for their draft-eligible prospects to showcase their abilities on campus. These have become crucial steps in the draft process for players who choose not to work out at the Combine. They also allow NFL owners, GMS and coaches to spend invaluable personal time with prospects.
The official pro day schedule has not been announced yet. It typically runs from March until early April.
The 30 visits
Each NFL team is allowed to schedule up to 30 prospects to visit its facility prior to the draft.
Players do not work out or take physicals at the visits. They are used to introduce the prospects to ownership, staff members and coaches who have yet to meet them along the draft scouting trail.
The 30 visits end a week prior to the draft.
The draft
This year’s NFL draft is held in Green Bay on April 24-26.