But who should the Browns target at quarterback in the middle rounds?<\/p>\n
It\u2019s simple. Drew Allar.\u00a0<\/p>\n
By this point, you\u2019ve probably heard about Allar, who started his quarterback journey at Medina High School in Northeast Ohio.<\/p>\n
But this isn\u2019t a story about the Browns drafting a hometown hero and making a feel good story.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Even though Allar grew up a diehard Cleveland sports fan, and attended every Browns home game in his family\u2019s season tickets that have been passed down since the 1960s, this is a story about Cleveland\u2019s professional football organization finally choosing a quarterback prospect that fits the division in which they play and the city that represents them.<\/p>\n
Allar\u2019s 6-foot-5 frame and big arm looks tailor-made for the AFC North.<\/p>\n
Sure, the division has evolved from the days of Ben Roethlisberger, Joe Flacco and Andy Dalton. Lamar Jackson won an MVP with Monken as a mobile quarterback that didn\u2019t fit the typical AFC North prototype.<\/p>\n
But Gabriel\u2019s six starts for the Browns proved that Cleveland needs a bigger quarterback. Even Sanders, who is 6-foot-2, was sacked 23 times in seven starts for the Browns as a rookie.<\/p>\n
Allar didn\u2019t play quarterback until his freshman year in high school. As a sophomore, Allar had an opportunity to take over the starting job for Medina, and told Browns On SI at the NFL Combine that he realized his NFL dreams could become a reality following that season, which resulted in a playoff loss against St. Edward\u2019s.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s try this clip again. <\/p>\n
Former Medina QB Drew Allar started playing quarterback during his freshman year with the Bees. Was his first year as a QB ever.<\/p>\n
He told me that he realized he could play in the NFL during his sophomore year during their playoff loss against St. Eds. pic.twitter.com\/nmmqYiSgAF<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Nick Pedone (@NickPedone12) February 27, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n That\u2019s when Allar started to explode onto the national scene. His first college football offer was from the first Browns jersey he ever owned, former Cleveland quarterback Charlie Frye, who was the QB coach at Central Michigan.<\/p>\n During the COVID-19 pandemic, the world shut down and football stopped for Allar, who was just hitting another growth spurt and starting to put on some weight and muscle. That\u2019s when he honed in on his craft, working with private QB coach Brad Maendler who transformed Allar into a rotational thrower as opposed to a linear thrower \u2013 changing him from a baseball pitcher into a quarterback.<\/p>\n In Ohio high school football circles, Allar was the real deal. He won Ohio Mr. Football as a senior<\/a>. In the heart of Buckeye country, there was genuine fear that a kid from Cleveland was going to a Big Ten rival and might make life really difficult for Ohio State, who never offered him.<\/p>\n But Allar\u2019s college career at Penn State didn\u2019t go as planned.<\/p>\n As a true freshman, Allar appeared in 10 games, quarterbacking a neutered Nittany Lions offense. As a sophomore, he threw 25 touchdowns compared to just two interceptions, proving an ability to sling it. His junior year, the NFL buzz became serious after throwing for 24 more touchdowns and 3,327 yards, leading the Nittany Lions to the College Football Playoff.<\/p>\n According to sources with knowledge of the situation, the Browns liked Allar ahead of the 2025 pre-draft process. But following his bad showing in Penn State\u2019s playoff loss to Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl, Allar wanted to return to the Nittany Lions with a chip on his shoulder.<\/p>\n The 2025 Nittany Lions were a wreck from the start, head coach James Franklin was fired and Allar suffered a season-ending ankle injury during the eighth game of the year.<\/p>\n Now, Allar is healthy and finds himself fighting for an opportunity to prove himself as the real deal once again. And the Browns are a team that have more of an opportunity for a quarterback to prove themselves than they might even realize.\u00a0<\/p>\n Sanders showed plenty of flashes as a rookie, but threw more interceptions than he did touchdown passes and was sacked over 20 times in just seven starts. Watson hasn\u2019t been good since Allar was playing high school football. After three serious injuries, there\u2019s no reason to believe that Watson will ever return to an elite level quarterback ever again.<\/p>\n At No. 94 overall in last year\u2019s class, the Browns overdrafted Gabriel, a quarterback who is smart, but has no tangible NFL traits. In six starts for the Browns as a rookie, there were growing doubts that the undersized left-handed QB could even sustain a career as a backup.<\/p>\n So the team should take a flier on Allar, the quarterback they were fascinated with last year. He has a relationship with new Browns quarterback coach Mike Bajakian, who tried recruiting him out of Medina to play at Northwestern. The Browns met with Allar at the NFL Combine, and the 22 year-old thought that it went really well.<\/p>\n Even though his college tape shows inconsistencies in a Penn State offense that never leaned into his strengths, the 6-foot-5, 228 pound quarterback has the raw traits that would make for an exciting lottery ticket.<\/p>\n If Monken could develop either him or Sanders into a long-term solution at quarterback, the team could be off to the races in 2027. If not? There\u2019s not much of an investment there. The team would be able to cut ties with Watson, Allar, and Sanders if they wanted to and usher in a premium quarterback in the first-round of the 2027 draft.\u00a0<\/p>\n But Browns fans are sick of waiting\u2026 and waiting\u2026 and waiting.<\/p>\n If they have to wait one more year, give them a local kid who has plenty of upside and wants to play in Cleveland.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cI think any team or any opportunity that I have to play in the NFL would be a dream come true,\u201d Allar said. \u201cThat one would be really cool and surreal just because I grew up going to Browns games and grew up a Browns fan, but any opportunity that I have is one that I won\u2019t take for granted.\u201d<\/p>\n The Browns should be that opportunity. At the very least, he wouldn\u2019t take it for granted.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/assets.minutemediacdn.com\/platform\/google_discover_icon.svg\"){kind=icon}
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