Heading into the summer, one of the biggest questions surrounding the Cleveland Browns revolves around who will start for them under center in Week 1 of the 2026 NFL season: Shedeur Sanders or DeShaun Watson.
On paper, both have their benefits and flaws, but given that this is Todd Monken’s first chance to get his hands on both players, his evaluation comes from a fresh perspective.
Discussing how the camp battle has looked so far, Monken told reporters that the duo remain firmly in competition, as they’ve both played well enough to justify consideration for the job.
“I really don’t know. I’m not going to name a number one. So that I am not going to name,” Monken said. “Chances are that’s not going to happen. I shouldn’t say that. Chances are I will not. Now, once we get to the fall, we’ll have to dissect the reps how we see fit. I just don’t see it after the way Shedeur’s played and Deshaun’s played. They both played well enough to earn the right to compete to start.”
Monken also commented on his increased focus on scrambling drills, an aspect that he’s bringing over from Baltimore from his tenure with the Ravens. While neither quarterback is widely considered an elite runner at Lamar Jackson’s level, Monken believes that aspect of his game is vital to their success.
“I mean, we won’t call pass play more than scramble. It’s going to come up five or six times a game, I don’t care what other concept, four verts, flood concepts, quick game,” Monken said. “With all these two play quarterbacks, it’s going to be imperative that we are elite at scrambling, and defensively we’re going to be elite at plastering. And so that whole drill was just set up for us to work it. You can work it separate, and you can get your coaches out there working on it, but it’s not the same until you get a chance to compete with your guys.”
With training camp still weeks away, it makes sense that the Browns aren’t going to commit to a new starting quarterback just yet, but the fact that the duo remain firmly in competition does make things interesting for a team that never disappoints when it comes to summer intrigue.
Heading into the summer, one of the biggest questions surrounding the Cleveland Browns revolves around who will start for them under center in Week 1 of the 2026 NFL season: Shedeur Sanders or DeShaun Watson. On paper, both have their benefits and flaws, but given that this is Todd Monken’s first chance to get his hands on both players, his evaluation comes from a fresh perspective.
