Dawgs By Nature
With training camp starting in less than four weeks for the Cleveland Browns, it’s time to kick off our annual positional previews leading up to the season. We will go through each position, starting with quarterback, to give a high-level overview of who is competing for a roster spot and what their expectations or odds of making the roster are.
Last year, we were evaluating Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett as the team’s top two quarterback options leading into training camp. This year, it’s Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders.
Height: 6-3 | Weight: 223 lbs | Age: 30
Experience: 10 years | College: Clemson
As I was putting together this piece and comparing it to last year, it was pretty funny how I thought “age 30” and “10 years of experience” for Deshaun Watson made him older, until I saw it was “age 40” and “19 years of experience” for Joe Flacco last season. In that sense, Watson is still a spring chicken.
There was a time a year or two ago when we thought Watson’s days of playing with the Browns were finished for good. Now, he is the frontrunner for the team’s starting quarterback job, assisted by the team having a new head coach in Todd Monken, but mostly by the fact that the rest of the talent at the position is unproven.
It’s crazy to think that the last time Watson played a full season with productive results was back in 2020. In his first couple of years with the Browns, I attributed much of his struggles to a combination of rust and being in his own head. I’m still a strong believer that going from “being a good guy and beloved” to being the face of negativity and ridicule (for his off-the-field actions) played a big role in his performance downfall. He was paid a record amount at the time he joined the Browns, and all Cleveland has gotten out of it is maybe a solid half or two of football before he suffered an Achilles injury.
Enough time has passed to where this is as clean of a slate as Watson can ask for at this stage of his career. He will no doubt look like the best quarterback in training camp sessions, but what happens during the preseason games? Will he thrive or falter? I think more than ever, the preseason performances will dictate who gets the starting job for Cleveland this season.
Final Roster Odds: 99%
Height: 6-2 | Weight: 212 lbs | Age: 24
Experience: 2 years | College: Colorado
We got excited for Shedeur Sanders last year. He started the Browns’ final 7 games and compiled a 3-4 record, which looks great considering the team’s 4-12 overall record. However, those final two games were also led heavily by the team’s defense if you read between the record. For the season, Sanders threw for 1,400 yards...
