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Insider Names Who’s Really Leading The Browns’ QB Battle
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The Cleveland Browns’ quarterback competition has produced plenty of conflicting takes throughout the offseason, but Bleacher Report’s James Palmer offered a different angle on the battle this week, one centered on scheme fit rather than raw talent. While Shedeur Sanders has generated significant buzz for his growth during spring practices, Palmer suggested that Deshaun Watson currently holds the edge based on his own reporting, and he pointed to Todd Monken’s offensive system as a major factor working in Watson’s favor.
Palmer laid out why he believes Watson currently sits ahead in this competition.
“Deshaun Watson seems to be the leader in the clubhouse, from my understanding. The Browns aren’t outright saying that. That’s just from the information I’ve gathered. If we look at the system they’re playing in, I think that plays a factor in this as well. Todd Monken’s always run a system that is under center, a lot of packages there, and then he wants the QB to spread it out and have some option packages. Monken has made it very clear that he loves the idea of quarterbacks getting more and more athletic, and being able to move around, and allowing them to have some fun playing when you spread things out for your quarterback. That is much more Deshaun Watson than it is Shedeur Sanders, even with the injuries Deshaun Watson has gone through. If Deshaun Watson was himself, 100 percent, it fits Todd Monken’s system more than Shedeur’s system,” Palmer said.
Monken’s offensive identity, built over years running systems that reward mobile quarterbacks capable of extending plays and creating outside of structure, naturally favors a player with Watson’s athletic profile when healthy. That fit does not guarantee anything on its own, since health and consistency remain the two biggest question marks surrounding Watson after everything he has dealt with in recent seasons.
Palmer’s report indicates that whatever progress Sanders has shown, the Browns’ coaching staff may still view Watson as the more natural fit for what Monken wants to build offensively, at least when Watson is performing anywhere close to the level that made him one of the league’s better quarterbacks earlier in his career.
Sanders, meanwhile, continues to build his case through a different style of play, one that leans less on athleticism and more on processing and pocket management. Whether that approach can still thrive within a scheme built around movement and option elements remains one of the more interesting subplots of this entire competition heading into camp.
With training camp approaching, all of this speculation will soon be tested in a live setting.
NEXT: Analyst Reveals How Shedeur Sanders Can Win QB Battle
Browns Nation Staff
Jimmy Swartz
Owner and Founder of BrownsNation.com. Born and raised in Ohio and a lifelong Cleveland Browns fan, I understand the passion, frustration, and [...]