On Thursday April 25th at 8 pm eastern time, at Lambeau Field in Green Bay Wisconsin the NFL will hold its 2025 NFL Draft. It is that time of the year of speculation, evaluation, and mock drafts. The Cleveland Browns currently hold the second overall pick in this year’s draft. A glaring need for this team is at the quarterback position. This is due to the organization’s big swing and big miss of the 2022 Deshaun Watson trade. The most discussed quarterbacks this draft season are University of Miami’s Cam Ward and University of Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders. But there is one quarterback that is not getting much discussion this early in the off season.

Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Will Howard is an intriguing prospect. This Monday night his team will be playing Notre Dame for the College Football National Championship. He has faced the best talent on defense during the College Football Playoffs. Against the 8th ranked Tennessee Volunteers, Howard was 24 for 29 for 311 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 1 interception. Against the top ranked Oregon Ducks, he was 17 for 26 for 319 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions. And against the third ranked Texas Longhorns, he was 24 for 33 for 289 yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception. Texas had the top ranked pass defense in college football in 2024. Howard and the Ohio State Buckeyes are expected to have a big game against Notre Dame.

An undeniable truth is that an average player in the NFL is very good in college football. That same truth goes for defenses in college football. Against better defenses in the NCAA, both Sanders and Ward have struggled. Will Howard has excelled against the best in college football. And yet he is prospected to be a third-round pick in the NFL draft. I have the 6’3” 240 lbs. quarterback prospect ranked much higher. I have a theory of what the Cleveland Browns might do in the draft this April.

Along with the second overall pick in the draft, the Cleveland Browns hold the 33rd overall pick as well. That is the first pick in the second round. The eventual Super Bowl Champion will hold the 32nd pick in draft. And that is the last pick of the first round. Here is where the Browns could possibly make a deal.

The Cleveland Browns could trade up one spot to go back into the first round of the draft and pick Will Howard. This would give the team contractual control of their quarterback of the future for 5 years. This move along with signing lower cost veteran quarterbacks could be a viable resolution to the team’s need at quarterback. It would be analytically the best possible move for a team that has to deal with the Watson contract. Baltimore did a similar move for Lamar Jackson in the 2018 draft and that has worked out well for them. Browns fans can always hope that a quarterback can work out for them, and why can’t it be Will Howard?