The topic of the next Cleveland Browns quarterback has hit its stride as we gear up first for the NFL free agency window in March and then the NFL Draft in April. The Browns hold the No. 2 draft pick in that draft and thus there’s been plenty of chatter on the topic.

Two quarterbacks, Cam Ward(Miami) and Shedeur Sanders (Colorado), are considered the top prospects, but are they worth taking so high in the draft? There are opinions out there that this quarterback class is not that strong. So would Cleveland be wrong in drafting one of these players? Would the team be better served taking a player like Travis Hunter ( Colorado), a combo wide receiver and cornerback who some say is the best athlete on the draft board?

Interesting note on the discussion of drafting a quarterback in this year’s draft in this season’s NFL playoffs of the 14 teams involved, 12 of them had quarterbacks taken in the first round. So when you start taking quarterbacks outside of the first round, the reliability and stardom of the player take a big hit. There are many exceptions to that fact noting star quarterbacks like Tom Brady and Russell Wilson but taking a quarterback in the first round has more upside.

In this series of articles, we’re going to look at these top two quarterbacks and a couple more quarterbacks that Browns fans are discussing in the days leading up to the draft.

No. 1 QB for Browns to consider drafting: Cam Ward, Miami

Cam Ward had a great career in college throwing the ball with the luxury to run with the football too which has made him probably one of the first players to be drafted. He spent his first two seasons as a Washington State Cougar and this past season with the Miami Hurricanes. In that time he threw for 11,281 yards and had 87 touchdowns. He only threw 23 interceptions. He also used his feet when needed. This past season he ran for 406 yards and scored 17 more touchdowns.

When you watch Ward on film, he has been good at eluding the pass rush and making many accurate throws. He doesn’t look rattled in the pocket and when he does run with the ball it looks pretty effortless.

Ward has good height at 6’2 and his game should transition to the NFL well. I don’t see Ward not being able to handle playing at the next level and whoever drafts him will have drafted themselves a future NFL star.

As we stand today, the Tennessee Titans, who have the No. 1 pick in the draft are intrigued by Ward and could pick him. If however, they go with a different quarterback and Ward is there at No. 2 for the Browns then I’d hope to see them draft him. Of all the quarterbacks in this series, he probably is the most ready to start in the NFL in Week 1.