Throughout the offseason, the main story surrounding the Cleveland Browns was their crowded quarterback room. At one point, they had six quarterbacks on the roster, but that list has quickly narrowed.
Now, Shedeur Sanders is the QB2, while Dillon Gabriel is set to start his third career game. With Deshaun Watson still sidelined and the team having traded veteran Joe Flacco, the organization is again looking ahead to the draft.
Try out PFSN’s FREE playoff predictor, where you can simulate every 2025-26 NFL season game and see how it all shakes out!
Could Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza Be the Answer for the Cleveland Browns?
PFSN’s James Fragoza recently released his three-round 2026 mock draft, which sees the Browns holding the No. 2 overall pick. Sitting at 1-5, with their lone win coming against the Green Bay Packers, Cleveland will have plenty of opportunities to improve its draft position. After a Week 9 bye, the team has chances to get wins against opponents like the New York Jets and Tennessee Titans.
Having dropped three straight games, many wonder if Gabriel is a legitimate franchise quarterback. While it’s far too early to tell, the team’s history shows a lack of patience, as they pulled the plug on Flacco after just four starts.
Given that Flacco won one of those games, it’s clear that head coach Kevin Stefanski isn’t going to wait around. His job may be on the line, so he knows the team needs to turn things around, and Gabriel’s F grade in PFSN’s QB Impact metric won’t cut it.
With that context in mind, the team appears to have its sights set on Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza. Mendoza, who was at one point a Heisman frontrunner, has had an electric start to the 2025 college football season. The California transfer threw for 3,004 yards and 16 touchdowns last year. Through the Hoosiers’ first six games of this campaign, he has already tossed 17 touchdowns.
“I’m not the biggest Fernando Mendoza fan, but with the season he’s having with the Indiana Hoosiers, it’s easy to see why many are,” Fragoza wrote. “His arm talent is plain to see, as he’s able to layer passes all over the field. While Mendoza isn’t overly toolsy or athletic, he has the frame that NFL decision-makers love.”
In the same mock draft, Oregon quarterback Dante Moore was projected to go No. 1 to the New York Jets overall. Further down the board, Fragoza has South Carolina’s LaNorris Sellers going No. 17 to the Los Angeles Rams (from ATL), Alabama QB Ty Simpson to the Pittsburgh Steelers at No. 30, and LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier falling to the Detroit Lions at No. 54.
Should the Browns select Mendoza, it would create quite a quarterback controversy, forcing a decision between him, Gabriel, and Sanders. Ultimately, the choice will depend on how the rest of the 2025 season shapes out. Many expect Sanders to start at some point this season, a decision that became more likely when the team traded Flacco to the Cincinnati Bengals.