Since the 2026 NFL Draft concluded, all eyes have been on Texas quarterback Arch Manning, the expected No. 1 overall pick in next year's draft cycle.
However, the team that has been projected to cement the No. 1 pick has changed rapidly over the last month or so.
Also read: New NFL Mock Draft has Arch Manning joined by Texas star in the Top 5
Now, after making a blockbuster trade, sacrificing pass rusher Myles Garrett for salary cap space as well as a few draft picks, and edge rusher Jared Verse, the Cleveland Browns were at the center of the conversation.
Immediately after the trade was announced, fans and analysts alike started assuming that the Browns were also tanking their hopes of the 2026 season for the opportunity to get the No. 1 pick and a shot at drafting Manning.
Cleveland Browns latest team expected to draft Arch Manning
Cleveland traded Garrett to the Los Angeles Rams, losing one of its top defensive players and its top lineman in sacks.
Garrett amassed a whopping 23 sacks last season, breaking T.J. Watt and Michael Strahan's previous record of 22.5 sacks in a single season. Now, he's off to LA, and the Browns got Verse, a second-year defensive lineman who earned 12 total sacks over his first two years.
The draft picks are the biggest prize for Cleveland, and if the Browns have a bad season (which is now more likely to happen), they could earn the No. 1 pick for next year's draft.
The Browns now own two first-round picks in the highly anticipated 2027 NFL Draft after trading Myles Garrett.
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) June 1, 2026
Could one of those picks turn into Arch Manning? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/UlgOyouOU1
While Cleveland is far from an ideal spot for a quarterback to land, especially with the Browns drafting two QBs just two years ago, and still having a slew of other QBs on the payroll, it is yet another "destination" that Manning may have to prepare himself for.
When discussions of the 2027 NFL Draft first started gaining speed, most experts believed that Manning would land with the New York Jets, a team in desperate need of a franchise quarterback to turn around its tumultuous recent history.
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