Browns wanted different QB in NFL Draft before trading Travis Hunter, picking Shedeur Sanders

Billy Heyen

Browns wanted different QB in NFL Draft before trading Travis Hunter, picking Shedeur Sanders image

The Cleveland Browns sure figured out how to make NFL Draft headlines.

First, they traded the No. 2 overall pick and the right to Travis Hunter to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Later on, they went with the rare two-QB double whammy of Dillon Gabriel and the polarizing Shedeur Sanders.

That's not to mention taking a pair of strong running backs and not a single offensive lineman.

But it all could've been different with one alternative decision.

The Athletic's Dane Brugler believes Cleveland would've taken Penn State QB Drew Allar if he had declared for the draft.

MORE: How Browns owner plays a role in Shedeur Sanders starting

Allar chose instead to return to the Nittany Lions and run it back after appearing in the College Football Playoff.

A native of Mentor, Ohio, just a bit east of Cleveland, Allar would've been a feel-good pick. He's also a great athlete with a tremendous arm.

Now, the Browns might get a chance to target him in 2026 if Gabriel and Sanders don't look like the answer.

This would've also had an interesting trickle effect, because it means Hunter and Abdul Carter could've both been knocked down a rung on the draft board. The Giants, Patriots and others may all have ended up with different choices. But we'll never know.

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Billy Heyen

Billy Heyen is a freelance writer with The Sporting News. He is a 2019 graduate of Syracuse University who has written about many sports and fantasy sports for The Sporting News. Sports reporting work has also appeared in a number of newspapers, including the Sandusky Register and Rochester Democrat & Chronicle