CLEVELAND, Ohio — Browns quarterback Kenny Pickett and Dillon Gabriel head into mandatory minicamp Tuesday right on track with where they were expected to be in their development at this point.
Both had somewhat uneven practices last Wednesday, the only organized team activities session open to the media, with Gabriel completing just over 50% of his passes in all drills combined, and Pickett nearly throwing multiple interceptions but finding Jerry Jeudy for a TD pass in 7-on-7s over 2024 seventh-round cornerback Myles Harden.
But the ups and downs are to be expected, especially with those two, because they’ve been tasked with helping to determine which new concepts in the overhauled offense are working. It might not always be pretty, but it’s necessary data.
In terms of the four-way quarterback competition, Pickett and Gabriel were acquired earlier in their respective acquisition cycles than Joe Flacco and Shedeur Sanders, and both are having a lot heaped on their plate. It’s in part to bring them up the learning curve as quickly as possible, but also to test the new scheme.
“We’re installing our offensive system,” new offensive coordinator Tommy Rees said Wednesday. “We want to make sure there’s certain things that fundamentally or from an install schedule standpoint that we’re covering. It’s also a time of the year where you’re looking at things, right? There’s stuff we study. There’s stuff that we want to try. It’s the time of year to push the limit on those. And you use this as an evaluation period, not only from a player standpoint, but also schematics. Then when you hit training camp, you’re shoring out your identity a little bit.”
The Browns’ third-round pick out of Oregon, Gabriel threw three straight incompletions at the end of a modified 7-on-7 period, including a near-pick on his final rep. But Rees, who watched him complete his first three in the period including two checkdowns, wasn’t concerned.
“For all the position groups, quarterbacks especially, we want to be as process-driven as possible as opposed to results,” Rees said. “As long as our process is in the right place, our decision making is in the right place, we’ll continue to coach the fundamentals and get the physical to follow it. But we want to focus on, ‘Okay, is he processing at the high level? Is he making the right decisions? Is he making the right reads?’ And as that happens, now you see growth and continue to push him fundamentally to make sure that we’re executing.”
Likewise, they’re pushing Pickett hard, and are pleased with his progress. He’s often up first in 11-on-11s, and it will likely remain that way in minicamp.
“He’s doing a really nice job,” Rees said. “The terminology in a system, those are fluid. Concepts usually are understood. Those are pretty universal at times. So Kenny’s done a really nice job with everything we’ve asked him to do. We’re pushing certain areas with him, continuing to try to improve his game and, again, he’s done a nice job through the first week and a half and we expect him to continue to grow.”
The key for Rees and the rest of the offensive staff is to find the sweet spot with the three young QBs, including Sanders, their fifth-round pick.
“We have a good amount of offense in, but we’re very selective with the growth and development and the progression for those young guys,” Rees said. “Definitely pushing them, but also being cognizant of, hey, we want them to go out there with confidence and making sure that it’s beneficial to how they’re learning.”
The Browns have also had to prepare the three young QBs for the elevated competition in minicamp, where they’ll face the likes of 2023 NFL Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett for the first time and see more of Pro Bowl cornerback Denzel Ward.
As for Flacco, who played for Stefanski here in 2023 and has seen just about everything in his 17 NFL seasons, he’s in a category of his own and doesn’t need as many reps to learn the scheme.
Sanders, who hasn’t had as much thrown at him yet as Pickett and Gabriel and is running primarily with the fourth team, has done a nice job with the reps he’s been given, but has a long way to go. In the two OTAs open to the media, he participated in only one of four 11-on-11 periods, and didn’t get any first-team snaps. He’s completed plenty of passes and thrown a lot of TDs, but minicamp will be a different animal.
“He’s worked his tail off,” Rees said. “He’s really put in a lot of work as all those guys are, but you could tell on the mental side of the game and learning the system and calling it and having that rhythm to it, he’s put a lot of work and time and effort into that. And then when you do that, the game starts to slow down and you can focus on finding completions. And he’s done a nice job of that as camp’s progressed.”
Rees acknowledged that relaying the plays in the huddle for players like Sanders who haven’t done it much is “a lot harder than you think.”
Other things to watch as mandatory minicamp takes place Tuesday through Thursday:
**Myles Garrett, David Njoku and others will join the group**
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Garrett and Njoku were out of the country for at least part of voluntary OTAs, with Garrett spending time in Japan, and Njoku, Thailand. Now it’s time for some of the Pro Bowl veterans to join practice, including All-Pro guard Joel Bitonio and All-Pro right tackle Jack Conklin.
The pace, intensity and competition will all increase dramatically with some of the league’s best players at their positions on hand.
The silver lining was that younger players such as third-round tight end Harold Fannin Jr. and second-year guard Zak Zinter got plenty of reps in the six OTAs.
**Cedric Tillman and Michael Woods II might still be idle**
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Tillman and Woods sat out OTAs last week and might continue to rest their minor injuries during minicamp as a precaution and to get them to training camp next month healthy.
It will give young receivers such as Jamari Thrash, Cade McDonald, Gage Larvadain, Luke Floriea and Kisean Johnson more reps. The Browns also last week signed receiver Jaelen Gill (6-0, 185) who’s officially in his first season out of Fresno State. Originally signed by the Chargers as an undrafted free agent in 2024, Gill spent five weeks on the Browns’ practice squad last season.
**Diontae Johnson will make his Browns debut**
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Johnson, signed last month, participated in some of the offseason program, but skipped most or all of the six OTAs to train on his own. He’ll be on hand for minicamp, and will have a head start in working with Pickett from their two seasons together in Pittsburgh. Special teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone also hopes to use him as a punt returner, where he made second-team All-Pro as a rookie.
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