Browns insider shares bold Jaxson Dart NFL Draft prediction

A recent report indicated that the Cleveland Browns will select Colorado wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter with the second overall pick of the 2025 NFL Draft and then try to trade back into the first round so they can acquire either Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart or Alabama signal-caller Jalen Milroe.

In his latest mock draft posted on Sunday night, Browns insider Tony Grossi of ESPN Cleveland/The Land on Demand predicted that Cleveland will take Hunter at No. 2 and then choose Dart over Milroe if given the opportunity. More interestingly, Grossi shared that he thinks Cleveland will be able to grab Dart with the first pick of the draft's second round (overall selection No. 33). 

"Each of the 32 teams still possesses its first-round pick," Grossi explained. "It’s the first time that has been the case since 1970. It has been speculated that there will be few trades on draft day, also, because of a lack of top-flight quarterbacks." 

Per Kevin Patra of the NFL's website, Tampa Bay Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht said that he thinks "you're going to see maybe a little less people maybe wanting to move up (in the draft order) and offering enough to make it worth your while just because the draft is pretty leveled-out at a certain point." Specifically, some evaluators feel that none of the quarterbacks in this year's class have a true first-round grade. 

Nevertheless, numerous reports emerged this spring claiming that some teams have Dart ranked as the second-best quarterback in the 2025 draft ahead of Colorado's Shedeur Sanders. If Sanders becomes the second quarterback selected on April 24 but falls to the 20s of the draft order, a club in need of a signal-caller could look to move back up into the first round to land Dart's services. 

"There could be a wild scramble among teams holding picks high in the second round who want to move up to take quarterbacks," Grossi added in his column. "This group includes the Browns (No. 33), Giants (No. 34), Raiders (No. 37) and possibly the Jets (No. 42)."

For an article published on Monday morning, Zac Jackson of The Athletic noted that Dart will "be part of a short list of players discussed by Cleveland" if he falls to the second round. 

"A trade-up for Dart would only be in play for the Browns if they view him as the No. 2 overall quarterback and their top target at the position," Jackson continued. 

It sounds like Browns general manager Andrew Berry doesn't want to give up multiple assets to add to a quarterback room that already features former Pittsburgh Steelers flop Kenny Pickett and veteran Joe Flacco. That said, hoping to get Dart at pick No. 33 could be risky for Berry considering a club that has an established starter atop its depth chart and a late first-round choice (i.e. the Los Angeles Rams at No. 26) could want to develop the Ole Miss star as an unused backup for at least one season.