In the modern-day NFL, everything starts and stops with the quarterback. You either have a guy or you don’t, and teams stuck in the latter category tend to hover around the bottom of the standings.
That would describe the Cleveland Browns, who have been searching for “the guy” since the Bernie Kosar days. The hope was that Deshaun Watson would finally be the answer, but it’s been painfully clear for a while now that he isn’t.
Shedeur Sanders? Malik Willis? Ty Simpson, or Player X, in the 2026 NFL Draft? The debates have been raging in Cleveland and beyond since the middle of the 2025 season, and they’ve only intensified with the NFL Scouting Combine now right around the corner.
Head coach Todd Monken has done nothing but downplay those conversations during his first month on the job. His latest comments on new offensive coordinator Travis Switzer are just the latest example.
In fact, Monken’s making us all look kind of silly for obsessing over Cleveland’s QB situation.
Browns’ 2026 plan is becoming obvious (and it has nothing to do with the quarterback)
Switzer previously worked under Monken as the Baltimore Ravens run game coordinator, so Browns fans naturally assumed the team would come out with a run-heavy attack in Monken’s first year.
It sure sounds like they’re right.
In his first comments since hiring Switzer as OC, Monken all but confirmed that the Browns’ new offense will be designed to function regardless of who's under center.
"He was our run game coordinator, and that's where it all starts with your ability to run the football," Monken said of Switzer. "So, he's ready for this challenge. He's intentional, he's intelligent and he can teach."
This isn’t a major surprise. The Ravens led the NFL (by far) in rushing play percentage, calling a run on 52 percent of their snaps in 2025, per Team Rankings. Their number was even higher in 2024, when they led the league at 53.55 percent.
Monken’s offense is quarterback friendly. He’s going to utilize pre-snap motion and other concepts to create space, along with heavier personnel (especially tight ends) to promote mismatches. His scheme helped Lamar Jackson boast some of the most productive seasons of his career. The Browns obviously don’t have that guy on their roster, but Year 1 will be more about putting the right building blocks in place than propping up an MVP quarterback candidate.
Whether the Browns roll with Sanders, Watson, or Player X to start the 2026 season remains to be seen, but their overall approach feels pretty locked in.
Fans should be expecting a physical, run-heavy attack under Monken, and given the current state of Cleveland's roster, that’s really the only approach.