The Cleveland Browns returned to the practice field on Tuesday to start Block 2 of their voluntary OTA program, and much of the outside attention will obviously center on Shedeur Sanders vs. Deshaun Watson.
The reality at this stage of the offseason program is that Cleveland’s quarterback competition may be interesting, but it's not very important.
It’s hard to believe that head coach Todd Monken would make any decisions based on training sessions in shorts with no real pass rush. He’s been adamant throughout the process that the best player will start in Week 1, no matter their experience level or career earnings. So if the Browns are holding a true competition, Monken’s going to want to see live 11-on-11 reps in full pads with Myles Garrett rushing off the edge.
If anything, the ongoing fodder over the Browns’ quarterback situation is masking the real position battles that could be won or lost during these OTA periods.
As Browns insider Zac Jackson wrote in his latest primer for The Athletic, the absence of veterans like Garrett and fellow starting defensive end Alex Wright has created opportunities for some of Cleveland’s undrafted rookies to impress the coaching staff and win jobs.
Jackson pointed to two UDFA pass rushers in particular — Logan Fano and Khordae Sydnor — as “priority free agents” looking to capitalize on a roster that’s loaded with talent but lacks depth at key position groups, including defensive back, linebacker, and defensive end.
“With 10 drafted players beginning their careers and more than 15 players from the 2025 rookie class who saw action in some capacity, it’s way too early to know which of this year’s undrafted rookies might make a real push at creating a role,” Jackson wrote. “But with a new coaching staff and the need to add depth at most positions, any undrafted rookie with the Browns should feel he has at least a fair shot at sticking.”
The competition among the Browns’ young pass rushers is wide open entering Week 2 of OTAs
From a 10,000-foot view, the Browns’ defense looks elite on paper with locked-in starters at every position group. Garrett and Wright return as the top two edge defenders along with Mason Graham and Maliek Collins on the inside. Denzel Ward and Tyson Campbell are back as an elite cornerback duo with safeties Grant Delpit and Ronnie Hickman expected to return as starters. At linebacker, the Browns lost Devin Bush in free agency but moved quickly to pair reigning Defensive Rookie of the Year Carson Schwesinger with veteran Quincy Williams.
The projected starting defense is about as good as it gets across the board in the NFL. Where the lingering question marks — or, for the UDFAs on the roster, the opportunities — lie is on the fringes of what will ultimately make up Cleveland’s initial 53-man roster later this summer.
Cleveland’s pass rushing group already has a ton of competition, and that should only spill over into training camp this summer. Both Fano and Sydnor are worth watching due to the guaranteed money in their contracts, but there’s also Tyreak Sapp, a Florida Gators product who signed with the Browns quickly after Day 3 of April’s draft. Sapp was expected to hear his name called, as Dane Brugler, Jackson’s colleague at The Athletic, projected him as a sixth-round pick during the pre-draft process.
It’s not out of the realm of possibility that multiple undrafted rookie pass rushers make Cleveland’s initial roster. Isaiah McGuire is currently the team’s No. 3 rotational player behind Wright and Garrett, but after the team passed on making an addition to the group both in free agency and the draft, the battle is on for the next one or two roster spots at that position.
The Browns kept five edge defenders on their initial 53-man roster in 2025: Garrett, Wright, McGuire, Cameron Thomas, and Joe Tryon-Shoyinka. Fans looking to dig into the details that really matter ahead of training camp should be keeping tabs on names like Fano, Sydnor, and Sapp. How they move and grasp the defense during these mostly forgotten spring practice sessions could set the stage for how everything plays out later this summer.
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