Browns' Deshaun Watson Ranked 24th in NFL Starting QB Rankings

Cleveland Browns veteran Deshaun Watson is ranked 24th in NFL.com's latest starting QB rankings.

Watson is one spot ahead of Tyler Huntley of the Baltimore Ravens and one spot behind Tanner McKee of the Philadelphia Eagles on NFL.com's list. 

Watson has 1,174 passing yards, seven passing touchdowns, two interceptions and 196 rushing yards through six games. He has fumbled the ball six times. 

Watson led his fourth game-winning drive of the 2026 season in the Browns’ Week 6 victory over the Ravens. That ties Denver Broncos QB Bo Nix for the most game-winning drives in the NFL this season.

Watson's four game-winning drives are already the most in a season for a Browns QB since Baker Mayfield in his 2018 rookie season. Watson had just one game-winning drive in his Browns career entering 2026 and it came in 2023 against the Ravens.

The Browns are 4-2 in Year 1 of the Todd Monken era. They lost to the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 1, beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 2, the Carolina Panthers in Week 3 and the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 4, lost to the New York Jets in Week 5 and beat the Ravens in Week 6. 

Cleveland is averaging 17.7 points per game. That's 28th in the NFL, so the offense has to be better moving forward. 

The Browns' defense has been solid, though, as they are giving up only 20.3 points per game. That's good for seventh in the NFL. 

Next up for the Browns is the 1-5 Tennessee Titans. Cleveland should win that game to improve to 5-2. 

Watson enters the Browns-Titans game with 19,078 career passing yards and 130 career touchdown passes with the Houston Texans and Browns. His starting record is 41-37-0.

In 25 games with Cleveland, Watson's starting record is 13-12. The former Clemson star has 4,539 passing yards and 26 passing touchdowns in a Browns uniform. 

When Monken named Watson his starting QB, many pundits expected Watson to get benched for Shedeur Sanders. While that can still happen, for now, Watson hasn't done anything to lose his job. 

Sanders finished his rookie season with 1,400 passing yards, seven passing touchdowns, 10 interceptions, 169 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown. He went 3-4 as a starter.

The Browns like how much Sanders has developed under Monken, and with no definitive long-term answer at QB, they are not motivated to move him or anyone else in the room right now.

Sanders now has formal representation after entering the NFL without an agent. ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that Sanders will be represented by Adie von Gontard of Young Money APAA Sports. The agency also represents his former college teammate, Travis Hunter.      

Watson's consistent ability to perform in crunch time remains one of the most surprising storylines of the 2026 season. It will be fascinating to see if he can continue to be clutch in the fourth quarter moving forward.