Tyler Shough finds his way to Browns in Nick Baumgardner’s latest mock draft

Tyler Shough finds his way to the Browns in Nick Baumgardner’s latest mock draft

The Cleveland Browns might not be so eager to take a quarterback early into the 2025 NFL draft. According to Monday’s mock draft by Baumgardner of The Athletic, the team will wait until the second round to select a rookie QB. In his column, Baumgardner wrote he believes the Browns will draft Shough with the first pick of the second round at #33.

“This, to me, makes much more sense for the Browns than reaching for a QB at #2," he wrote. "It’s possible Cleveland will have to trade back into the bottom of the first round for either Shough or Ole Miss’ Jaxson Dart, but either would give the Browns a good young quarterback and a premium talent at the top of the second.”

Baumgardner predicts when the Browns are on the clock at #2 in the draft, they’ll go with the versatile Travis Hunter, a star at both the cornerback and wide receiver positions.

Cleveland is seemingly trying to move on from Deshaun Watson. Still, he hasn’t made any long-term moves to shore up the quarterback position, adding Kenny Pickett to their squad in the off-season after backing up Jalen Hurts to a Super Bowl title with the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2024 campaign.

In 2024, the Browns finished 28th offensively, averaging 300.8 yards per game. At the same time, they didn’t have receiving depth. Jerry Jeudy collected 1,229 yards through the air, and their next highest receiver was Elijah Moore, at 538.

Having a quarterback like Shough and a receiver like Hunter would seemingly kill two birds with one stone. It would address those needs and help them in the cover game at times as well.

Tyler Shough’s bold claim

No one’s had Shough at the top of their draft board in the opening round, but that has not shaken his confidence. In a Friday interview with NFL Live, Shough compared himself to a pair of elite Pro Bowl NFL quarterbacks.

“For me, I grew up watching (Matthew) Stafford and the stuff that he does with his arm angles," Shough said. "He’s a tough son of a gun. He’s playing through a lot of stuff, and he’s been around, and he’s playing really well into his late thirties. I’ve always really liked him.” (0:08)

Shough also believes he has a lot of the reigning NFL MVP in his game.

“I also liked watching Josh Allen. I kind of feel I have a little bit of him in me when it comes to being a physical force at the line of scrimmage and ripping the ball down the field," he said. "I would say those two guys come to mind of who I watch the most.”

Those are some bold comparisons, given what those two have achieved in the NFL. Stafford guided the Los Angeles Rams to the Super Bowl in the 2021 season, while Allen has a career record of 76-34 as an NFL starter.