NFL Draft: Arkansas QB Taylen Green, who has 'rare physical gifts,' taken at top of sixth round

BEREA — The Browns saved a dose of excitement for the late stages of the NFL Draft.That's what comes with picking a quarterback. Particularly one as physically gifted as Arkansas' Taylen Green.General manager Andrew Berry grabbed Green at No. 182, the first pick of the sixth round. He was the ninth of the Browns' 10 choices over the three-day event."It's the most important in sports. We'll make a bet or acquire a player that we like if it's the right cost," Berry said Saturday. "With Taylen specifically, very mature young man, really strong makeup, and he has rare physical gifts. He has size, he has elite speed, he has a big arm."He's going to need some polish with his game, but he has the work ethic and he has the acumen to do so. So we're looking forward to adding him to the roster and adding him to the mix in terms of competition."Green (6-foot-5 7/8, 227 pounds) joins a quarterback room with Shedeur Sanders, Deshaun Watson and Dillon Gabriel. Sanders (fifth round) and Gabriel (third) were drafted a year ago. Berry said he'll move forward with the foursome and doesn't expect any additions or subtractions."We're going to continue to work with all those guys and we like having competition," he said.The Browns started the draft with nine picks. After six trades — a record for the always-active Berry in his seven years — they made 10 picks and added two fourth-rounders in 2027.Eight of the picks were on offense, with two tackles (Spencer Fano, Austin Barber), two receivers (KC Concepcion, Denzel Boston), two tight ends (Joe Royer, Carsen Ryan), a quarterback (Green) and a center (Parker Brailsford). The defensive additions were safety Emmanuel McNeil-Warren and linebacker Justin Jefferson.The main mission of the offseason was to fix the offense, and the draft was the latest step. Line and receiver were the top priorities. Including a trade and free agency, the Browns could have a new starting five upfront and two rookies among the top three wideouts, joining Jerry Jeudy."I'm excited about the work that Andrew has done," new coach Todd Monken said. "It's been a great draft, but what matters now is how we develop them and how we put them in the right places to let their talent shine."With a top-five defense and many of the offensive deficiencies addressed, the pressure will be on quarterback to keep up. Green is the only offseason addition, so the Browns will most likely be counting on Sanders or Watson to emerge from the competition and win games."The three guys that we've had here have worked really hard and they've got along really well," Berry said. "We've been really pleased with the early part of the offseason program and we think Taylen will really fit in nicely just because of how he's wired, his work ethic. So we're looking forward to seeing that group progress over the course of the spring and summer."Green, 23, brings a set of attributes nobody in the room possesses.He ran a 4.36-second 40-yard dash, vertical jumped 43 1/2 inches and broad jumped 11-2. He's a big-time dual threat, rushing for 777 yards in 2025 and totaling 73 carries of at least 10 yards over the last two seasons.The numbers are special, period. For a quarterback, even more so. For one nearly 6-6, perhaps unmatched."You're exactly right because those guys are playing basketball," Monken said. "You're not seeing them play football, or at least not at that position."Green completed 61 percent for 2,714 yards with 19 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in 2025. But he had 37 turnovers (20 interceptions, 17 fumbles) over the last two seasons and needs work on his mechanics and decision-making.Green said the NFL coaches and personnel people he talked to in the predraft process were focused on his feet."Just really clean up my footwork," he said. "It all starts with your feet and your eyes tie with it."And everybody knows, the turnover just has to be down. Checkdowns is a good play.""All of these quarterbacks who come into the NFL this weekend, they have a lot to learn," Berry said. "And fortunately we have one of the best teachers with Todd and we know he's in good hands."Berry, who was coming off a strong draft a year ago, was adamant Green is a quarterback and there won't be talk of trying him at another position. Monken is open to finding a way to get him on the field as a quarterback in certain situations."Short yardage, goal line, four minute, critical times when you've got to be able to run the ball and the defense is going to have an extra element in the box, having an athletic quarterback can be critical to having success," Monken said. "So if he's able to do that, then we'll certainly put him in a position if we think that can help us win a game."Green was at Boise State for three years, the final two as the starter. He transferred to Arkansas for two seasons. The Razorbacks won seven games in 2024 and two in 2025 with a bad defense. Berry said that was part of the context for the turnovers."At this point in the draft, there are no perfect prospects, but Taylen has a lot of positives that make us want to work with him," he said.Monken noted the improvement as a passer throughout Green's college career and the trust the Arkansas coaches had in having him pass more.Monken said he'll run simultaneous drills in practice to get the four quarterbacks and rest of the team enough repetitions to develop. He said anyone on the roster is competing for playing time but reiterated "that doesn't mean equal reps.""The amount of reps they get, that's to be determined," he said.Green knows the situation he's entering."It's a deep quarterback room, and I'm just excited to compete and get out there and to learn," he said. "So I'm hoping to just take everything in and hit the ground running and just be excited and put my best foot forward and get to work."He said he knows of Sanders, who also played high school football in Texas, but doesn't have a personal relationship yet."What he did at Colorado and what he did last year was really good," Green said. "I'm just really excited to work with him and to pick things up from him and to pick things up from everybody in the quarterback room because they were very successful, not just in college, but in the NFL as well."He knows what he wants to show the fans."I'm a dawg and I'm competitive. I'm going to do whatever it takes to win, whatever it takes to get that first down, whatever it takes to score," he said. "Honestly, if that's laying my shoulder down to get a first down or if that's hurdling somebody, I'm going to make sure I'm going to put my team in the best place to win and have the opportunity to do it. And I'm going to give all I have, all my might and all I got into it. So that's why I want to let the franchise and let the fans know."The post NFL Draft: Arkansas QB Taylen Green, who has 'rare physical gifts,' taken at top of sixth round first appeared on BrownsZone with Scott Petrak.