In the minds of analysts and fans alike, the Cleveland Browns were one of the teams that nailed the 2026 NFL Draft.
Deshaun Watson over Shedeur Sanders? The Browns have a starting QB favorite, per report
This is shocking.
Mark Schofield is a former college quarterback and attorney covering the NFL and F1.
With the entire football world believing that Cleveland needed to use their two first-round picks on an offensive tackle and a wide receiver, the Browns did just that, sliding back a few spots and still drafting Utah’s Spencer Fano, and then adding Texas A&M wide receiver KC Concepcion near the end of the first round. Cleveland was not done making picks that fans and analysts loved, as the team added Washington WR Denzel Boston and Toledo safety Emmanuel McNeil-Warren on Day 2.
When the dust settled, the Browns earned high marks not just from SB Nation, but around the NFL world.
Of course, there is one rather important outstanding matter, and there is news on that front.
Who will be under center for the Browns this season?
According to a new report, none other than veteran Deshaun Watson has the “inside track” to the starting quarterback job in Cleveland as the offseason begins. Mary Kay Cabot at Cleveland.com wrote Wednesday morning that Watson “emerged from the Browns voluntary minicamp last week with an edge over Shedeur Sanders in the two-man quarterback competition — and has the inside track to be named the Browns QB1.“
For those who might be wondering yes, this is the same Deshaun Watson that last played in 2024, only made seven starts that season, and saw his year cut short due to an Achilles’ rupture. And the same Watson that during that season posted an Adjusted Net Yards per Attempt of just 3.7, and led the Browns to a 1-6 record. It’s also the same Watson who faced a series of sexual assault allegations in recent years.
And yet … there is a reason he might be their best option. Courtesy of RBSDM, here is a look at Quarterback Efficiency — a metric examining both Expected Points Added per Pass and Completion Percentage Over Expected — for all quarterbacks with 100 or more passing attempts a year ago.
See if you can spot the two Browns passers who fit that category last year: Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel:
Yes, right in the bottom left is where you find the two Cleveland rookies from last season, exactly where you do not want to be on this graphic.
So while the Browns might have “won” the 2026 NFL Draft, what lies ahead is much less certain.
Especially at quarterback.
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