As the Cleveland Browns QB competition rolls on, Deshaun Watson appears to lead the way. But nothing is settled, leaving room for Shedeur Sanders to gain some ground in the coming weeks and months.
Football cravings tend to reach their apex this time of year, with the NFL Draft more than a month in the rearview mirror and meaningful football still several months away.
It means anything that comes out of a team's spring practices tends to be hyper-analyzed. That's especially true for the Cleveland Browns and their ongoing quarterback competition, where every single throw seemingly turns into a debate over which signal-caller is the current QB1.
What's clear at this stage for Cleveland, through the first two weeks of OTAs is that veteran QB Deshaun Watson appears to be the front-runner for the job right now.
He continues to be the QB who has made the most of his first team reps during 11-on-11 and 7-on-7 drills. Shedeur Sanders has had his fair share of reps with the ones, though, to the point where the rep distribution between the two has been pretty even.
It's Watson, who has made the most emphatic case for the starting job, though. Wednesday's open-to-the-media OTA practice was just the latest testament of that, when the 30-year-old tossed multiple touchdown passes with pinpoint ball placement. He also flashed his athleticism, with Todd Monken working in some designed runs for the former Houston Texans QB.
It's encouraging that Watson looks as productive as he has to this point. No one should be surprised that during this phase of the team's preparation for next season, he looks like the best QB of the group.
For Watson, it's about how it looks when the bullets really start flying, though, which is exactly why the competition is far from over.
Right now, players are practicing in helmets, jerseys, and shorts. There's no tackling, oftentimes there's no defensive line, and even when there is a full defense lining up across from the offense, key members like Myles Garrett and Denzel Ward haven't even arrived yet.
During Watson's four seasons in Cleveland, it's always been about what it looked like on game day, not on the practice field. Training camp and preseason will be key indicators for him.
The same can be said for Sanders, who has always had the ability to raise his game when the lights are brightest. He's a gamer, as Browns fans saw on several occasions last season across his eight appearances.
That's not to say Sanders hasn't had a productive spring in his own right. During the first week of OTAs, Monken raved about the fifth-round pick's development in going through his progressions and getting the ball out on time. He can certainly make up some ground on Watson if he continues to play well when the intensity picks up.
What can be said definitively is that Watson and Sanders are the two true contenders for the starting job, while Dillon Gabriel and rookie Taylen Green lag behind. At some point, they'll have to whittle the group down, but that's a problem for after training camp.
Otherwise, no decisions have been made as far as a true quarterback depth chart is concerned. Something OC Travis Switzer asserted this week at OTAs.
"I don’t know that we have somebody who’s ahead," said Switzer. "Like I said, we’re pleased with both their progress, and all the guys are doing a nice job."
That may change by the end of mandatory minicamp in two weeks. Monken has said he'd like to have some sort of depth chart figured out before training camp to better distribute reps.
Nothing is settled at the moment, and even training camp should provide more context to the situation. And so, Cleveland's QB competition rolls on, with two horses leading the pack.
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