FANTASY FOOTBALL NEWS

Could Kenny Pickett Start Week 1 for Browns?

By Matt Schauf | Updated on Mon, Mar 10 2025 9:47 PM UTC

The Browns are trading QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson and a fifth-round pick to the Eagles for QB Kenny Pickett, according to multiple reports. That makes Pickett and Deshaun Watson the only rostered QBs for Cleveland. The Eagles, meanwhile, appear ready to let Tanner McKee back up Jalen Hurts.

What They're Saying

NFL Network's Mike Garafolo: "Tanner McKee has really impressed the Eagles and pushed Kenny Pickett for the No. 2 spot behind Jalen Hurts last year. McKee now with a clear path to be the primary backup next season."

ESPN's Adam Schefter: "Early on in the process, I was pretty confident that Cleveland was taking a quarterback [No. 2 overall]. I am not that confident anymore."

2025 Fantasy Football Impact

Pickett was obviously expendable for the Eagles, and the Browns are clearly done with Thompson-Robinson after giving him several starting shots over the past two years.

Pickett's the most interesting name involved, though. He's the only healthy QB on Cleveland's roster as of this writing. The Browns elected to trade for him with Jameis Winston set to hit the open market.

If the Browns don't see any of the incoming rookie QBs as potential 2025 starters -- or at least not worth such a high pick -- we might be looking at Pickett as the favorite to start the season opener.

It's obviously too early to know what else the team might do at the position, but we'll be watching.

Matt Schauf, Editor

Matt has earned two Fantasy Pros accuracy awards for IDP rankings and won thousands of dollars as a player across best ball, dynasty, and high-stakes fantasy formats. He has been creating fantasy football content for more than 20 years, with work featured by Sporting News, Rotoworld, Athlon, Sirius XM, and others. He's been with Draft Sharks since 2011.