Who Will Start for the Browns in Week 1? Pickett the Favorite Over Sanders to Take 1st QB Snap in 2025
Who will start for the Cleveland Browns in Week 1 of the 2025-26 NFL season?
Veteran Kenny Pickett (+120) is the early betting favorite by the Browns Week 1 starting QB odds. Shedeur Sanders (+225), Joe Flacco (+300), Dillon Gabriel (+650), and Deshaun Watson (+1800) round out the oddsboard from DraftKings for what will be one of the most interesting positional battles throughout training camp and the preseason following the 2025 NFL Draft.
Watson, the incumbent starter, is expected to be out for most - if not all - of the 2025 season after tearing his Achilles' tendon early in the offseason. Pickett was acquired via trade early in the offseason, and Flacco reunited with the team shortly before the draft.
The Browns selected Gabriel with the 94th overall pick on Day 2 of the NFL draft. Then, they shocked the NFL community and filled out a robust (albeit underwhelming) QB room by taking the free-falling Sanders with the 144th pick on Day 3 of the draft.
🐶 Who will start for the Browns in Week 1?
Here are the odds from DraftKings on which QB will take the first snap of the regular season for the Browns in Week 1:
| Player | Odds | Profit on a $10 bet |
|---|---|---|
| Kenny Pickett | +120 | $12 |
| Shedeur Sanders | +225 | $22.50 |
| Joe Flacco | +300 | $30 |
| Dillon Gabriel | +650 | $65 |
| Deshaun Watson | +1800 | $180 |
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🤼 Browns QB options for 2025
The Browns QB room is the most interesting in the NFL. As if his poor play and off-field issues weren't reason enough, Watson's Achilles injury suffered early this offseason may finally help Cleveland turn the page and close the book on his tenure as a starter.
But as they say, if you have five quarterbacks, you probably don't have one.
Kenny Pickett
Odds to take the first snap of Week 1: +120
The +120 odds for Pickett to take the first snap of the 2025 season represent an implied win probability of 45.45%. The Pittsburgh Steelers' 20th overall pick of the 2022 draft spent last season with the Philadelphia Eagles, where he completed 25 of 42 passes for 291 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception while appearing in five games and starting one.
He's 15-10 as a starter over parts of three seasons with the Steelers and Eagles.
Shedeur Sanders
Odds to take the first snap of Week 1: +225
Sanders is - without much doubt - the most talented of the five options in the Browns' QB room. The former Colorado star is, however, the final contender to enter this competition to be the Week 1 starter after falling to the fifth round of the NFL draft.
Sanders opened as the early betting favorite by the NFL draft odds to be the No. 1 overall pick. Reported issues with his pre-draft interviews were seemingly the cause for his draft night(s) free fall. Will those issues be resolved entering NFL training camps and the competition to start in Week 1? That seems unlikely.
If the Browns weren't willing to pick him until the fifth round due to character concerns, there's little reason to believe they'll be willing to hand him the reins in Week 1, regardless of their other options.
Joe Flacco
Odds to take the first snap of Week 1: +300
Flacco was the shocking NFL Comeback Player of the Year odds winner for the 2023 season after starting just five games for the Browns and getting them into the postseason. He completed 60.3% of 204 passes for 1,616 yards and 13 touchdowns against eight interceptions in his limited action that season.
He spent last season with the Indianapolis Colts, starting six games and appearing in two others. He completed 65.3% of his passes for 12 touchdowns against seven interceptions while going 2-4. Starting Flacco in Week 1 would do little to inspire confidence in the fanbase at the onset of the season. It feels more likely that we see Flacco in Week 2 than in Week 1.
Dillon Gabriel
Odds to take the first snap of Week 1: +650
Gabriel's NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year odds are just +4000 compared to Sanders' odds of +1900 despite being drafted 50 picks earlier.
The 24-year-old, who spent his final collegiate season with Oregon, seems to present the best value at +650 odds. Gabriel completed 72.9% of his passes for 3,857 yards and 30 touchdowns against six interceptions last season. He added another seven scores on the ground.
Having Gabriel learn from Pickett and Flacco in training camp while continuing to be pushed by Sanders in preseason should help expedite his development. Naming the third-round selection the Week 1 starter also offers success-starved fans (and Myles Garrett) a glimmer of hope with fallback options already in place should an in-season change need to be made.
Deshaun Watson
Odds to take the first snap of Week 1: +1800
Despite what Watson (and Dov Kleiman) says, there's little chance of Watson being close to NFL-ready for Week 1 of the season. There's probably an even lower chance of him automatically returning to starting quarterback duties whenever he does return from injury.
Don't fall for the trap of the long odds, or any "best shape of his life" videos we'll surely see this summer.
🟠 Prediction to start for the Browns in Week 1
Dillon Gabriel (+650)
As stated off the top, do the Browns really have five options to start at quarterback in Week 1?
Gabriel seems to be the best of the sorry bunch, based on age, talent, and what it would represent to the fanbase - and rival teams in the AFC North.
While Cleveland is seemingly playing for fourth in the division regardless of who's under center, Gabriel could either keep this team competitive while limiting mistakes or help tank efforts as a one-year starter for a much stronger QB draft class next April.
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