In Cleveland, three quarterbacks are circling the same starting role with little separation between them. Shedeur Sanders heads into his sophomore campaign carrying the heaviest spotlight, but he's far from the only name in play. Deshaun Watson is recovering from a torn Achilles that needed two operations, and Dillon Gabriel sits behind both, waiting for a crack at meaningful snaps.
The numbers from last season explain why Todd Monken was hired to overhaul the offense. Cleveland ranked 31st in passing yards with 3,152, posted the worst completion rate in the NFL at 57.9%, and averaged just 5.6 yards per attempt. The protection collapsed for 51 sacks. During the late-season window when Sanders took over, the Browns mustered only 14.6 points per game.
Sanders himself logged 1,400 passing yards, seven touchdown throws, and 10 interceptions across seven starts, finishing 3-4. He chipped in 169 rushing yards and a score on the ground, plus earned a Pro Bowl replacement nod that hinted at upside despite the rough edges.
Watson, meanwhile, is fighting to extend his career. His final Houston stretch produced a 25-22 mark with 8.3 yards per attempt, but his Cleveland run has been a four-year slide ending with a 1-6 record in 2024 and back-to-back surgeries. Gabriel arrives off a Big Ten MVP year at Oregon, going 13-1 with 30 touchdowns and a 72.9% completion rate. All three angles converge this summer.
Why Cleveland's three-way QB gamble will define Monken's first year
The pressure on Sanders runs deeper than rookie growing pains. Bleacher Report has already flagged him as a candidate to regress in year two, pointing to his completion percentage and decision-making under duress.
His rookie tape backs that up. His lone victory came in Week 14 against Tennessee, where he threw for 364 yards and three scores while adding 29 yards and a touchdown on the ground. Outside that game, he failed to clear 209 passing yards in any other start and absorbed 23 sacks across 212 pass attempts.
The college context further complicates his projection. In Colorado in 2024, Travis Hunter accounted for 32.2% of his completions, 30.4% of his yards, and 40.5% of his touchdown passes. That kind of single-receiver dependency rarely translates cleanly to the pros, especially with a release that lags on dropbacks.
Watson's path back is steeper. The 2024 season ended with him absorbing 33 sacks and averaging 5.3 yards per attempt before the Achilles injury closed his year in Week 7. He still owns a career winning record at 37-35, but a five-year absence from elite play is hard to reverse.
Gabriel offers the cleanest archetype for what Monken likely wants. His three-step drop, comfort throwing on the move, and ability to spread targets across a full receiver corps (eight Oregon players caught 20 or more passes last fall) fit a rhythm-based system. Whoever emerges, Cleveland's draft additions across the offensive line and receiver depth will dictate how forgiving the offense plays.
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