Both Monken and quarterbacks coach Mike Bajakian have been impressed with Watson over the course of the offseason program. Monken highlighted Watson's athleticism, calling it "one of his superpowers," as well as his ability to play with his feet. Bajakian also noted how Watson has utilized the offseason program to master the procedure at the line of scrimmage with the different checks, motions and progressions.
"So, the biggest thing for him was being able to translate what we're doing to something he's done in the past," Bajakian said. "He's an extremely fast processor, very smart guy, he's been working his butt off. The amount of preparation he put in before we even were able to get our hands on him, in phase one, he came in and we started talking about schemes and concepts and techniques, and he would refer back to the Baltimore video and refer to things that Lamar (Jackson) was doing. It was obvious to us that before we had even got him on campus here, that he had done a lot of work of video work and things like that are pretty cool."
As the Browns break for the next six weeks and return in late July for the beginning of training camp, Watson knows Monken will eventually decide on the starter for the 2026 season. Until that decision comes, Watson and Sanders – as well the rest of the quarterback room in Dillon Gabriel and Taylen Green– will continue to support one another and improve as a position group.
"We both have the opportunity to go out there and put out the best product for the team and let Monken and the organization choose who goes out there, and we're going to support each other," Watson said.