CLEVELAND, Ohio — In this week’s edition of Hey, Mary Kay! I answer questions about the Browns’ surplus of quarterbacks, Dillon Gabriel, and more.
**Hi Mary Kay!**
----------------
With the Saints thin at QB after Derek Carr’s retirement, could they come calling the Browns? Given Cleveland’s depth, who do you think they’d prefer? Joe Flacco for his veteran stability or Pickett as a younger option familiar with Kellen Moore? And how open might the Browns be to moving either? _\- ARob, Des Moines, Iowa_
**Hey, ARob:** I’m sure the Saints are exploring their options, and the Browns might be one of the first places they’d look. But the Browns have no plans to trade any of their quarterbacks at this point. They’re intent on conducting this four-way quarterback competition and having the QBs bring out the best in each other. By roster cutdown day on Aug. 27, they will be prepared to part with at least one of the quarterbacks. Which one will be determined by the competition, and how their depth chart order shakes out.
Last year, they would’ve traded Jameis Winston for the right offer at that point, and will do the same for one or two of the QBs this year. They might also try hang on to one of them after cutdown day to see if a team needs a starter after the first week or two. I would think the Saints or someone else would prefer one of the veterans such as Flacco, but Kellen Moore does know Pickett well from last season with the Eagles. The Browns are hoping that Pickett shows enough to be their starter or least their backup this season.
**Hey, Mary Kay:**
------------------
Would Dillon Gabriel have been a first-rounder if he were two inches taller? _— Greg, Cherry Valley, CA_
**Hey, Greg:** I think the first-round might’ve been a bit of a reach (no pun intended), but I could definitely have seen Gabriel going in the second round if he were 6-1. He has excellent arm strength, great decision-making, and a boatload of experience with an FBS-high 63 starts under his belt. Only two quarterbacks went in the first round in Cam Ward to the Titans (1) and Jaxson Dart to the Giants (25), and only one in the second in Tyler Shough to the Saints (40).
I think Gabriel would’ve gone either ahead of Shough or soon after if he were a little taller. The Browns liked him enough to spend a valuable third-round pick on him even at 5-11, which tells me that they or someone else would’ve scooped him earlier without the height discount.
**Hey, Mary Kay:**
------------------
Who do you think is going to win the QB spot for the Browns? Who do you think will get traded? And what will we get in return? _— Jonathan Chmielewski, Burton, Ohio_
**Hey, Jonathan:** It’s a tough call before we’ve even seen the first practice of organized team activities, but I know Kenny Pickett heads in as the frontrunner to win the starting job at the outset. He’ll take the initial first-team reps in OTAs and probably the mandatory minicamp, and it seems like it’s his job to try to keep for now. But Joe Flacco brings 17 years experience and a 4-1 record with the Browns in 2023. He will definitely push and press Pickett hard for the job.
Flacco’s big arm will dazzle in camp, and it will be hard to keep him off the field, especially because he’ll fighting so hard to win the battle. I do think one of the veterans will start, and at this point, I still think it will be Pickett, the No. 20 pick of the Steelers in 2022. The Browns have a very difficult start to the schedule, with two AFC North games and then four of five on the road beginning in Week 4, and they must be ready to roll. I could see a team trading for Flacco if he doesn’t win the starting job, and ties for the backup job. A team might offer a mid-round pick for him if their starter goes down.
**Hey, Mary Kay:**
------------------
We love to talk QB and I am okay with that but I want to know who your biggest positive surprises/players at rookie minicamp? _— Abe, Huntington WV_
**Hey, Abe:** I thought all of the rookies looked really good in rookie minicamp, and I’m eager to see how they stack up against the veterans. Our first look at them in OTAs will be on May 28th. Defensive tackle Mason Graham looked explosive and powerful attacking the blocking sleds in individual drills, but it was hard to get a true read on him in 11-on-11s.
We’ll get a better sense over the next few months. Linebacker Carson Schwesinger showed excellent field awareness, including on his interception in the end zone off of Dillon Gabriel, and picked up the system quickly. I think he’ll start from the jump. Both running backs looked fast and explosive, with Dylan Sampson displaying excellent hands out of the backfield. Third-round tight end Harold Fannin Jr. caught everything that came his way, and will complement David Njoku well in two tight end sets.
**Hey, Mary Kay:**
------------------
Can you please tell me the upcoming practice schedule? _— Kelly Corbett, Myrtle Beach, S.C._
**Hey, Kelly:** The Browns are currently in Phase Two of the nine-week voluntary offseason program. Workouts can include individual and group instruction and drills, with offensive players lining up across from offensive players and same for the defense, at a walk-through pace. Phase Three begins May 27 with four weeks of organized team activities, consisting of up to 10 practices, including 11-on-11s, but no live contact. The Browns will conduct their mandatory minicamp, which is also closed to the public but open to the media, June 10-12. Training camp begins in late July and will include joint practices with the Panthers and Eagles before their preseason games there in Week 1 and 2.
Hey, Mary Kay:
--------------
Do you think Kevin Stefanski will possibly run a two-quarterback system this year with Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel, and do you think Nick Chubb is a goner? _— Matthew B. Gerber, Strasburg, Ohio_
**Hey, Matthew:** Stefanski won’t run a two QB-system. He’ll settle on a starting quarterback and stick with him for as long as he can. If one of them were a running quarterback such as Jalen Milroe, he probably would’ve put in a package for him if he didn’t win the starting job. But the skillsets of Sanders and Gabriel aren’t different enough to do something like that.
As far as Nick Chubb is concerned, the Browns have no plans to sign him anytime soon, but the door is open a crack in the event the Browns have an injury at the position, or decide to bring him is as their fourth running back, which they really don’t want to do. Hopefully someone will offer him the good job he deserves, even if he has to wait for an injury to a starter or backup.
**Football Insider newsletter free trial:** Take a minute and [sign up for a free trial](https://link.cleveland.com/join/6fe/newsletter-football-insider-sign-up-emailform) of our Football Insider newsletter, featuring exclusive content from cleveland.com's Browns reporters.