Todd Monken had a vision for the Cleveland Browns offense when he was hired as head coach this year. Based on how general manager Andrew Berry and the front office attacked free agency, that vision involved building the kind of power rushing attack that made Monken so successful as offensive coordinator of the Baltimore Ravens.
One example: Monken just about pounded the table for a veteran fullback.
The Browns signed the 34-year-old Michael Burton shortly after the 2026 NFL Draft in April. Burton hadn’t played a snap of football since the 2024 season, and injuries cost him the majority of the Browns’ offseason program this year.
But Monken wanted his fullback to the point where the head coach brushed off questions about Burton’s status as one of the team’s best 53 players after roster cutdown day.
"Whether it’s short yardage, whether it’s goal line, whether it’s coming out or four-minute, I think you’re going to want a fullback,” Monken said at the end of August. “You’re going to want the ability to play downhill. And Mike [Burton] gives us that. All you had to see when he came back a week ago, and the reps he took, you could see a guy who had played fullback and really understands the position. There are guys who play fullback, and there are guys who have played fullback and play it at an elite level, and Mike’s the latter.”
Michael Burton has quickly become an afterthought in the Browns offense
Now a month and a half later, Monken’s entire stance on Burton and the fullback position appears to have changed — drastically.
The Browns are aligning in the shotgun with Deshaun Watson at the highest rate in football (77.6%). They’re using 11 personnel (one running back, one tight end, and three wide receivers) at the sixth-highest rate (70%), per Sharp Football Analysis.
Burton? He’s being phased out of the game plan more and more each week.
Since playing a season-high 15 snaps in the home opener against Carolina, Burton played nine snaps in the win over Pittsburgh and just two snaps in last week’s rain-soaked loss to the Jets.
Todd Monken's changing Browns offense has left Michael Burton without a role
Burton’s lack of involvement could be explained in multiple ways.
It could be a product of the quarterback, as Watson played the best football of his career in shotgun-heavy offenses at Clemson and with the Houston Texans. Monken has been leaning into the shotgun since the offense found a rhythm during the second half of the Buccaneers game back in Week 2.
But it officially reached an absurd level against the Jets last Sunday, when the Browns lined up in the shotgun on almost every snap (about 97% overall) in a road game played in steady rain from start to finish. Watson wound up completing less than 50% of his attempts and was sacked eight times in that game.
The Browns’ overreliance on the shotgun has been such a talking point that it’s almost a guarantee that Watson will play more under center in this week’s rivalry game against the Baltimore Ravens. Watson told reporters on Wednesday that he doesn’t have a preference, but he also didn’t seem to love the line of questioning on why he’s rarely been under center in recent weeks.
It should naturally lead to an uptick in playing time for Burton, who per Pro Football Focus is having his least efficient season since 2019. The 12th-year vet has been better as a pass blocker (77.4 grade) than a run blocker (59.0 grade), according to PFF’s grading system.
Monken clearly had a vision for this player, but he’s currently on pace to play 143 offensive snaps over a 17-game season, well below the usage he saw with the Denver Broncos in 2023 and 2024.
The veteran isn’t contributing much outside of special teams right now, and it’s definitely worth looking at one of Monken’s priority adds in free agency with a critical eye as his offense continues to search for answers in the running game.
Add us as a preferred source on Google