Armed with the second-overall pick in the draft, the Browns are in prime position to land either Cam Ward or Shedeur Sanders. However, there’s another QB who’s rapidly climbing up draft boards, and the Browns will take an extended look at the prospect.
According to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com, the Browns are hosting Louisville quarterback Tyler Shough for a top-30 visit. The organization may simply be doing their due diligence at the position in case they opt for someone like Abdul Carter or Travis Hunter with the No. 2 pick. However, Cabot hints that Shough’s chances of going second aren’t “as far-fetched as [they] might seem.”
Shough is one of the more intriguing names on the draft board. The QB has seven years of college experience in stops at Oregon, Texas Tech, and Louisville. He had a true breakout season in 2023, completing 62.7 percent of his passes for 3,195 yards, 23 touchdowns, and six interceptions. Shough has already drawn the attention of draft pundits; as Cabot notes, Greg Cosell has lauded the player’s size and NFL readiness, while Louis Riddick has discounted the player’s injury history in favor of his upside. This won’t be Shough’s first visit; the QB visited with the Seahawks earlier this week, according to ESPN’s Brady Henderson.
With Ward expected to go first-overall, the Browns have often been connected to Sanders with the second-overall pick. As Cabot notes, the front office hasn’t been quiet about their affection for the Colorado QB, and Deion Sanders has also endorsed a move to Cleveland. However, Cabot cautions that if the organization determines they prefer Shough over Sanders, they may not have the flexibility to select a non-QB with the No. 2 pick and then swing a trade to acquire a QB prospect later in the draft. There’s also a chance the team looks at other quarterback options like Jaxson Dart and Jalen Milroe.
At 25-years-old, Shough would surely make some Browns fans queasy considering their track record with older prospects (apologies to Brandon Weeden). The front office may have a tough time convincing fans to pivot the second-overall pick to someone like Shough, and the organization could be better off taking someone like Carter or Hunter at No. 2 with the hope of landing a QB later on.
It will be interesting to see if the team’s free agency approach will impact their draft plans. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported earlier this morning that the Browns remain interested in Russell Wilson, and adding both a veteran and a rookie would make for a crowded QBs room. While Deshaun Watson‘s future with the organization is uncertain, the Browns already made one move for a veteran this offseason in Kenny Pickett.
Interesting
Kenny Pickett QB1 in Cleveland is glorious
…for everyone else in the division
Maybe he’s improved
Easy call. He’s definitely the top 30-year old in the draft.
I know you’re joking but it isn’t really funny. He isn’t 30.
He’ll be the same age as Stetson Bennett when he was drafted in the 4th. He’ll be 26 a month into the season. If he goes in the first, by the end of his rookie contract he’ll be 30, you’d have to make a 5th year option choice on a 31 year old.
TheMichigan, the fifth year option would be his 30-year-old season if he turns 26 during Year 1.
Let’s not age-shame this guy, doesn’t mean he can’t play just because he still has a land-line.
Either way it would be monumentally stupid to take a kid only a year or so younger than Hendon Hooker at #2. Bro would be in his 30s by the time his contract is up. Any team who takes Shough in the first round is a poverty franchise that should refund its scouting and analytics department.
I know you’re being serious, but it’s very funny that you identified an obvious joke and responded earnestly anyway.
It’s funny, point and laugh.
koz125 you have a stick wedged up your butt
That would be the Browniest pcik.
Seven years in college, the old Tommy Callahan route.
“You know a lot of people go to college for seven years.”
“I know, they’re called doctors.”
A lot of people go to college for seven years
When you have to “discount the player’s injury history in favor of his upside,” you’re kind of asking for trouble… especially with a #2 draft pick.
He’ll be available for the Browns in Round 2, pick 3.
There’s no way Shough would be considered for the number two pick. He would be a quarterback shot if they went with one of the top tier non QBs at two. But I think it would be kind of nuts to even take Shough in the second or third round, and I say that as someone who’s a little intrigued by him.
Two words:
Brandon Weeden.
Two more words: Roger Staubach. Who was 27 when he joined the Cowboys after his service in the Navy. And then sat another two years before finally starting at the age of 29.
This is the Browns we’re talking about.
Ok, so what’s your point? They once drafted an older QB who didn’t work out? They’ve drafted young QB’s who didn’t work out too. And they’ve drafted normal rookie age QB’s who didn’t work out. Pretty much everyone they draft doesn’t work out. Except Baker Mayfield. LOL.
Wouldn’t it be good if the Browns drafted a QB who is old enough to remember when the Browns were good?
deiter brock 34, rams. really good rookie year. kurt warner 27. different situations here obviously. rams will probably draft him though lol.
MKC is an idiot
who?
Every year there’s always a quarterback who should actually be about a 5th rounder that randomly starts getting early round buzz before the draft. Most of them end up showing why they were 5th round talents all along, and in Shough’s case you have plenty of film (probably black and white film, at that) showing why.
I’m sure there are plenty that I’m forgetting, but I remember this exact same thing happening with guys like Tom Savage and Nathan Peterman.
BFD. Almost every year there’s a QB taken in the first 3 picks, who was always projected to go in the top 3 picks, who does nothing in the NFL. Most QB picks miss no matter the pre-draft hype.
Agreed, but most of the guys taken near the top are at least projected there all along. The need for QBs definitely pushes guys a little earlier, but even Bo Nix was looked at as at least a second rounder before the draft last year before he was seen as a huge reach at 12.
At no point in the predraft process has Shough even been remotely close to that tier of prospects.
This kind of suggestion would get you drug-tested at many jobs. A marginal top-100 maybe?
Just a leverage ploy
What does it say that Cleveland is linked to the same pool of QB’s that the Steelers and Giants are…EXCEPT for Rodgers?
Bo Nix was 24 when Denver drafted him with pick 12 and that worked out. The bigger risk with overdrafting Shough at pick 2 is passing on Carter or Hunter who both maybe impact players. If Browns really like Shough they should look to trade down or use draft capital to acquire a 2nd first round pick. Or this is just draft fodder that happens every year where teams try to misdirect teams on there preferred plans…
Nix threw twice as many passes in college and didn’t have a long injury track record. No chance Shough goes second overall.
I’d bet against even the 2nd round. Even in a QB-centric world, he might be the #7-8 QB off the board. I’d be shocked if he went before Ewers or Milroe. I’d take Howard over him as the QB6, but at least that’s close.