The Browns have a new head coach who likes drawing up plays. Taylen Green could have some fun.
Taylen Green is joining a Cleveland Browns roster which already has three quarterbacks. Deshaun Watson, Shedeur Sanders, and Dillon Gabriel have all received live snaps in NFL regular-season games. The Browns obviously had a thought process when choosing Green. They could have met other positional needs, but they were curious enough about Green's evident athleticism to believe they could make use of him. First-year Browns head coach Todd Monken talked to Cleveland.com about planning to use Green in specific running or short-yardage situations:
"Certainly, when you have a player with those kinds of traits, when can you utilize those? Obvious reasons – short yardage, goal line, four-minute, critical times when you’ve got to be able to run the ball and the defense is going to have an extra element in the box, having an athletic quarterback can be critical to having success. So, if he’s able to do that, then we’ll certainly put him in a position if we think that can help us win a game for sure."
In separate comments, Monken added that "“I just think at that point in the draft, and again I think Andrew [Berry] can speak to this more than I can, but you’re looking for players that have traits, elite traits which he has, something you think you can work with and give yourself a chance to develop. You hear some great things from not only when he was at Boise, Arkansas, in terms of how he’s wired, and so we’re just looking forward to get to work with him.”
We have seen other NFL head coaches use running quarterbacks in specific situations, the most obvious and prominent one in recent years being Sean Payton of the New Orleans Saints using Taysom Hill. There's no (good) reason Todd Monken couldn't give Taylen Green a specific package of plays for short-yardage or goal-line situations. The real question would be if the Browns will have Green take the snap under center or in a shotgun formation. Monken could simply line up Green as an inside receiver, a setback in the backfield, or perhaps in the tight end's position.
This much is clear: Taylen Green won't be the Browns' 2026 starter, and he probably won't be the 2027 starter, either. Cleveland and Monken can afford to be patient in terms of overall football development and start with a focus only on Green's strengths, which can be accommodated in a limited package of plays. The long-term developmental piece can hopefully pay dividends by 2028, when the Browns might want more on their investment. Right now, however, they don't have to rush.