Cleveland Browns QB Competition: Deshaun Watson vs. Shedeur Sanders
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Cleveland Browns QB Competition: Deshaun Watson vs. Shedeur Sanders

Ian Hartitz breaks down the Cleveland Browns QB competition, featuring Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders.

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We love quarterback competitions, in theory. Then there is what is happening in Cleveland, with the Browns having to decide between Year 2 Shedeur Sanders and Deshaun Watson, who hasn't been "good" by NFL QB standards since 2020. Can either of these two rise up and make the skill players in this offense fantasy viable? Ian Hartitz breaks it down as part of his Cleveland Browns Team Preview.

Is there really a winner in this sad quarterback competition?

Probably not. While nobody would call this supporting cast loaded, and Kevin Stefanski's schematic excellence seemed to wane in recent years, we have seen nothing from any party involved here to expect something close to even average performance.

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There are 68 qualified QBs in the above chart … and Shedeur Sanders (65th), Deshaun Watson (63rd) and Dillon Gabriel (60th) all rank among the bottom 9 signal-callers in EPA per play. Not great!

But if we HAD to try to say nice things about the involved parties …

Deshaun Watson is seemingly a slight leader in the clubhouse to start Week 1. That's what the betting odds say anyway. Watson has declared himself 100% healthy for the first time since 2023, but color me skeptical. The soon-to-be 31-year-old QB is returning from not one but TWO torn Achilles, and this was just one year after he tore his rotator cuff and fractured his shoulder scapula. We already saw Watson play like one of the league's worst QBs with reduced arm talent. What's he going to look like at 80% mobility? Of course, Watson's early-career success continues to earn him starting opportunities. It's wild that he's still so far up in the all-time QB fantasy points leaderboard even after 19 mostly disastrous games with the Browns.

Most fantasy points per game among all QBs in the Super Bowl era (min. 50 starts):

  1. Josh Allen (22.1)
  2. Patrick Mahomes (21.5)
  3. Lamar Jackson (20.3)
  4. Deshaun Watson (19.7)
  5. Andrew Luck (19.6)

Sanders made the Pro Bowl last season! He must have been great, right? RIGHT? Well, in reality, there was more bad than good in seven starts last season, but there were at least some flashes in there, namely when he racked up 393 total yards and 4 touchdowns against the Titans. Sanders has displayed some nice touch throwing downfield and can be slippery in the pocket, but it's tough to find any statistic that paints him as anything other than a bad professional QB, and many—success rate, completion percentage, passer rating—had him as a bottom-3 signal-caller in the league as a rookie.

Gabriel's numbers are on par with Shedeur, and the eye test was even worse. One of just four QBs to have an average target depth below 6 yards, Gabriel rarely pushed the ball downfield and had a rough tendency to lead his pass catchers into contact. The hospital ball merchant lacks NFL-caliber arm strength, size and speed. Credit to Gabriel for doing some great things at the college level, but it wouldn't be overly surprising if he never starts another regular-season game in the NFL.

Also note: Sixth-round rookie Taylen Green is 6-foot-5, 227 pounds with 4.36 speed and a 43.5-inch vert. That's good for the second-highest RAS (relative athleticism score) at the position … ever. Many have speculated about the Arkansas product pulling a Matt Jones and moving to wide receiver, but Green isn't keen on the idea. There's a decent chance Green's shortcomings as a pocket passer prevent him from ever getting a real chance under center in Cleveland or elsewhere, but he does possess the dual-threat profile that we look for in late-round options. I've seen worse last-round rookie picks to stash on a taxi squad in dynasty land.

Players Mentioned in this Article

  1. Deshaun Watson
    DeshaunWatson
    QBCLECLE
    Proj
    105.3
  2. Shedeur Sanders
    ShedeurSanders
    QBCLECLE
    PPG
    11.6
    Proj
    142.0
  3. Dillon Gabriel
    DillonGabriel
    QBCLECLE
    PPG
    7.2
  4. TaylenGreen
    QBCLECLE

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