Deshaun Watson went 693 days between starts for the Cleveland Browns, so it makes sense that head coach Todd Monken would attempt to make Watson as comfortable as possible from a play-calling perspective.
For the Browns in Week 1, that meant lining up in a shotgun formation over 65 percent of the time.
It was obviously an ugly showing for Watson and Cleveland’s entire offense in their 34-10 loss to Jacksonville that wasn’t even that close. But with an overreliance on the shotgun and poor efficiency when Watson did line up under center, the analytics sites have been raking Monken and company over the coals.
SumerSports may have inadvertently landed the biggest body blow. On their “under center and efficiency” chart for Week 1, the popular NFL data site left the Browns completely off the board (h/t CBS Sports analyst Todd Fuhrman).
“Note the graph above removes the Browns because their placement distorted the graph too much. They had a 32.6% under center rate and -0.81 EPA/play.”
The Cleveland Browns were so bad on under center usage last week they completely broke the efficiency charts created by @SumerSports pic.twitter.com/VSp6u3vtrl
— Todd Fuhrman (@ToddFuhrman) September 18, 2026
Ouch.
It was only one game, but if the Browns continue to start Watson at quarterback this season, they’re going to need to get more comfortable playing under center.
Deshaun Watson's shotgun-heavy Browns offense is already raising red flags
Here’s the breakdown from the Browns’ 49 offensive plays against the Jaguars. It wasn’t pretty.
Watson aligned in the shotgun on 33 of those plays, or 67.3 percent of the time. The Browns gained 201 of their 272 net yards in the shotgun for an average of 6.0 yards per play. They also had an interception, three sacks, and five penalties on those plays.
It’s worth noting that the bulk of the yardage came late with the game already well in hand. Watson’s 46-yard touchdown pass to rookie Denzel Boston was out of the shotgun with less than two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. The score was 34-3 when that ball was snapped.
The more concerning issue was the offense’s production when Watson turned his back to the defense. The Browns ran just 16 plays under center, gaining 71 total yards for a 4.4 average.
Some of the discrepancy was likely due to game script. When you’re trailing 28-0 in the second quarter, it’s hard to justify a lot of heavy personnel packages. Cleveland’s running backs combined to rush for less than 3 yards per carry, so the play-action game was non-existent.
But the league has been trending toward more running back and tight end usage in recent seasons, and if the Browns think they can live in 11 personnel (one running back, one tight end, three wide receivers) with Watson in the shotgun, they could be in for a rude awakening.
The NFL's best offenses are operating out of the shotgun less and less
That data chart from SumerSports speaks volumes. The teams in the upper right quadrant, meaning high expected points added (EPA) and high under center usage rates, included Jacksonville, Buffalo, Baltimore, Seattle, San Francisco, Detroit, and the Los Angeles Rams.
Starting Watson isn’t even the biggest second-guess for GM Andrew Berry. It’s the team’s questionable approach to the tight end position behind Harold Fannin Jr. Cleveland let a proven vet in David Njoku walk in free agency. The solution, as of now, is a core special-teamer in Blake Whiteheart and a seventh-round rookie in Carsen Ryan. The tight end room is as indefensible as it is hampering to what Monken can do on offense.
The Browns deployed 11 personnel with one back, one tight end, and three wideouts on 34 of their 49 plays in Week 1, ranking eighth-most in the NFL, per Sharp Analysis. It was pretty clearly their most successful grouping, and in the eyes of ESPN’s Bill Barnwell, they’re more likely to lean into that success rate than experiment with the heavier groupings that lend themselves to more under center usage.
“As 2026 goes on, I suspect that teams that have some success going under center will lean into it more often, while the ones who struggle early or don't fully adopt it as a tenet of their offense will see it fall by the wayside by midseason,” Barnwell wrote. “Even the teams that lean heavily into getting under center will still want to go to shotgun or pistol looks or — if they have a quarterback capable of moving the ball with his legs — pull the QB run game out of mothballs in a key spot. Nothing's new under the sun in football, but what's old certainly felt new in Week 1.”
We expected the Browns to have some growing pains on offense this season, but seeing such a heavy reliance on Watson in the shotgun was a scary sight. Monken highlighted Watson’s mobility as one of the core reasons for his decision to name him the starter. If the 31-year-old doesn’t improve as a ballhandler and processor with his back turned to the defense, this offense will be painfully easy to play against in 2026.
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