{"id":785178,"date":"2026-03-01T21:16:16","date_gmt":"2026-03-01T21:16:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/785178\/"},"modified":"2026-03-01T21:16:16","modified_gmt":"2026-03-01T21:16:16","slug":"browns-nfl-draft-rumor-looking-deeply-into-one-qb-could-go-higher-than-expected","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/785178\/","title":{"rendered":"Browns NFL draft rumor: Looking deeply into one QB, could go higher than expected"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Not all rumors are created equal, so it takes a little nuance to navigate through them at this time of the NFL calendar. For example, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.essentiallysports.com\/nfl-active-news-sources-browns-doing-tons-of-work-on-ty-simpson-george-pickens-trade-possibility-confirmed-nfl-plans-combine-changes\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Tony Pauline shared this nugget<\/a> on Cleveland diving into Alabama Crimson Tide QB Ty Simpson with \u201cextensive work\u201d being done:<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup _1teeyfa8 ls9zuh1\">Even before his terrific combine workout Sunday, I was told that quarterback Ty Simpson will be drafted earlier than most presently predict. Some believe he could end up in the top-12 selections.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup _1teeyfa8 ls9zuh1\">It was reported by other outlets before the combine that the Cleveland Browns have an interest in the former Alabama quarterback, and I am told they are doing extensive work on Simpson.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Could Simpson be drafted in the first 12 picks? Sure, anything is possible.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Does that mean you can put two and two together from Pauline\u2019s rumor and get the answer that Cleveland is likely to draft Simpson near the top of the 2026 NFL draft? That is where things go a little too far.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Simpson is an interesting draft prospect. Already 23 years old, Simpson had 50 total attempts in college before his final season. As a redshirt junior, he completed 65% of his passes for 3,567 yards, 28 touchdowns, and five interceptions. His play down the stretch of the season saw a significant decline, with many expecting he would return to college for his senior season.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">At this point, Simpson is the 32nd-ranked player on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nflmockdraftdatabase.com\/big-boards\/2026\/consensus-big-board-2026?pos=QB\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Consensus Big Board<\/a>, with only Fernando Mendoza joining him in being ranked in the first 85 prospects.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup _1teeyfa8 ls9zuh1\">Learning to cut bait and avoid sacks needs to be prioritized. One-year starters rarely \u201cboom\u201d so he\u2019ll need a patient staff and a clear developmental roadmap to fill in the missing pieces.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Can GM Andrew Berry and Monken, a first-time head coach, be that \u201cpatient staff\u201d given the lack of proven talent currently on the Browns roster? Will Cleveland, who has huge needs on the offensive line and at the wide receiver position, throw another first-round quarterback (and QB in general), early first round if Pauline is to be believed, to the wolves instead of building the rest of the offense in 2026?<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">We have almost two months of rumors ahead, and a lot of \u201cink\u201d will be spilled in the process.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">What do you think of this particular rumor? Do you think Simpson is worth selecting in the first round for the Browns?<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Share your thoughts in the comment section below<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Not all rumors are created equal, so it takes a little nuance to navigate through them at this&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":785179,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2054],"tags":[86,85,54,4397,52261,2337,7,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-785178","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cleveland-browns","8":"tag-browns","9":"tag-cleveland","10":"tag-cleveland-browns","11":"tag-cleveland-browns-draft","12":"tag-cleveland-browns-rumors","13":"tag-clevelandbrowns","14":"tag-football","15":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116155998894686485","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/785178","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=785178"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/785178\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/785179"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=785178"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=785178"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=785178"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}