There are more than enough reasons to feel excited about the new-look Cleveland Browns. For the first time in years, they seem to have a plan, and they're executing it almost perfectly. They clearly want to give Todd Monken the resources he needs to succeed in his first crack as a head coach.
However, even good things can be improved. The Browns may have won the NFL Draft and might finally have two promising playmaking wide receivers in KC Concepcion and Denzel Boston, but there's still an elephant in the room.
FanSided's Jake Beckman believes Monken has already made a big mistake by not naming a starting quarterback yet. Even though it's still early, that might only get in the way of the young wide receivers' development.
"There doesn’t need to be a quarterback competition resulting in young starting skill position players practicing with a quarterback who isn’t going to start," Beckman argued. "The sooner they name a QB1, the sooner they can start to develop their rookie wide receivers, and the sooner they can try to trade the guy who isn’t QB1."
The decision to wait on a QB1 could come back to haunt Cleveland
This is a complicated situation. On one hand, this is a new regime, and it makes sense that Monken wants to take his time to make a decision between two potential starters. Teams with quarterback competitions rarely settle things in early May.
On the other hand, the fact that this is a competition is an issue in itself. Shedeur Sanders started for nearly half of last season, so if he still hasn't beaten out Deshaun Watson for the job, the coaching staff might not be that high on him. As for Watson, if he's still not miles ahead of Sanders, how good will he be?
Granted, it's impossible to evaluate Sanders after watching him play with little to no help and behind a decimated offensive line last season. He barely got any first-team reps until injuries forced the team to throw him into the fire midseason.
There's literally no upside to playing Watson. He's not going to return to the team in 2027, regardless of how well he plays, and he's only still on the roster because of the most brutal contract in NFL history.
Sanders may not be the future of this team, but the sooner he gets more first-team reps, the sooner the coaching staff will realize that. Moreover, that will only help the rookies develop some rapport with a player who's under contract through the 2028 season.
In the worst case, Sanders will lead the team to its quarterback of the future with a high 2027 draft pick. But if there's even a minuscule chance he's the right guy, the Browns probably shouldn't waste any more time.
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