The Cleveland Browns have tons of competitors in the quarterback room, with no clear-cut favorite to be the Week 1 starter. Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, Dillon Gabriel, and perhaps the most interesting of them all, Shedeur Sanders, could all take the job.
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Analyst Louis Riddick identifies one of the quarterbacks as the potential Week 1 starter. And it’s not any of the first three names. That’s right, it’s Shedeur!
It comes as a surprise given that he’s a fifth-round pick. That said, Shedeur has impressed the Browns coaches so far. Yet, one condition will need to be fulfilled before the son of Deion Sanders can step into the limelight.
“As long as they can get him enough reps,” Riddick stated on Get Up on ESPN. “And it sounds like Kevin Stefanski is aware of the fact that in order to create enough quarterback competition, he has to kind of change some things in terms of the way he divvies out reps during the preseason.”
So far, we’ve seen Shedeur getting a lot of reps in rookie minicamp and making the most of it. It’s only rookie camp, but still, some of the throws Shedeur was making were high-quality.
That’s why Riddick believes that if the Browns and Stefanski can get Shedeur even more reps in their NFL camp, he could maybe take the job.
“If he can compete with Dillon Gabriel, if he can compete with Joe Flacco, if he can compete with Kenny Pickett, there’s a very good chance that if this is an organic competition with a level playing field, he could be your starter Week 1. No question about it,” he concluded.
It was high praise coming from Riddick. He sounds fairly confident of Shedeur’s chances to compete for the job. The young gun just has to go out there and prove him right.
Furthermore, Riddick’s co-host, Dan Graziano, would go on to say that Stefanski is very conscientious about the competition. So much so that he had Gabriel and Shedeur running 7 vs. 7 drills in rookie mini camp, which is a time reserved for more “classroom work,” as Graziano put it.
Where Does Deshaun Watson Come In?
Amidst all of this, Deshaun Watson is gearing up for his return to the throne. Even though the quarterback tore and then re-tore his Achilles this past year, his rehab process is reportedly going “excellent,” as he just got out of his walking boot.
It was once assumed that Watson would miss the entirety of the 2025 season, which made the Browns select both Gabriel and Sanders in the draft. But now it’s looking as though Deshaun could make a late-season return if all goes perfectly.
However, that’s still a big assumption to make. A torn achilles is no joke, and Watson was already struggling before he went down with the injury. Watson will have to prove many of his doubters wrong if he’s ever going to reclaim the QB1 role.
For now, Cleveland should remain focused on Shedeur and Gabriel. Flacco and Pickett are solid veteran options to have. But the aforementioned rookies offer so much potential and have higher ceilings; either could be starting come Week 1.
