Ahead of the NFL Draft and just a few days after the start of the offseason program, beat writer Zac Jackson and columnist Jason Lloyd go back and forth on the state of the Cleveland Browns.<\/p>\n
Zac Jackson: At our age, it\u2019s hard to keep the days straight. But we\u2019re a little over a week past the owners meetings and inside two weeks from the draft, which means we\u2019re about 10 days from the first time new coach Todd Monken has some of his team on the practice field for a voluntary minicamp. Time flies when you\u2019re mock drafting and getting ready to chart quarterback reps, doesn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n
Jason Lloyd: It seems like only yesterday we were talking about haircuts and missed coaches\u2019 pictures. I guess that really was yesterday.<\/p>\n
Jackson: Speaking of Todd Monken, it\u2019s still the honeymoon period. But is he winning that period?<\/p>\n
Lloyd: Well, it\u2019s pretty hard to lose it. With Kevin Stefanski, Browns fans reached the point where they wanted to hear something, anything from the head coach. Monken likes to swear. That seems to go over well here. Whether or not he can do the job remains to be seen. He understands the appeal, or lack of, that comes with the current situation. I don\u2019t believe he has fooled himself into thinking he\u2019s walking into the Patriots or Eagles. He knows what kind of heavy lift this involves. As long as he isn\u2019t instigating fights at the joint practices with the Bills, he\u2019ll be well ahead of the last coach here who liked to curse.<\/p>\n
Jackson: I laughed at your fight reference. Wasn\u2019t 2019 such a glorious time? Last week, I actually ran across a picture from the first day of offseason workouts the last time Monken was employed by the Browns. In that picture were Myles Garrett, Baker Mayfield, Jarvis Landry and Odell Beckham Jr.<\/p>\n
Things are different now \u2014 in multiple ways. I\u2019m more than willing to give Monken the benefit of the doubt and clean slate he deserves to have in terms of how we judge him and the job he\u2019s doing. But the offensive roster he inherited remains miles from even being decent. If Monken wins right away, he\u2019ll be popular right away. If Monken wins right away, he might also be a miracle worker. For now, I\u2019m comfortable saying Monken has done a job of mixing realism and optimism with his public comments. I also think the team has put him in a favorable light ahead of anything really happening.<\/p>\n
When you take this job, you have to know you\u2019re going to spend a lot of time talking about quarterback competitions, the perceived happiness of Myles Garrett and why you think things can be different this time around.\u00a0Speaking of, if the Browns never trade Garrett, everyone will still live happily ever after and Garrett will still have a hell of a Canton highlight reel. But that late-March contract modification happened for a reason, and we know Garrett has a lot of influence in the organization. Come June 1, are we on trade watch again?<\/p>\n
Lloyd: My stance hasn\u2019t really changed. I don\u2019t think they\u2019re going to trade him, but I think they should. And I absolutely believe this restructure was to give them the flexibility to do so. One question no one has really answered: Why did Myles agree to this? Most guys like their money sooner rather than later, which is why players love the Browns\u2019 strategy of turning base salary into signing bonuses. It\u2019s essentially a fat check up front. I don\u2019t think Myles is living paycheck to paycheck, but what\u2019s in it for him to delay payment from March until September?<\/p>\n
Jackson: It\u2019s pretty obvious that the payment delay keeps the door open. Perhaps both sides agreed that going public last time didn\u2019t benefit anyone. Maybe some all-in team told the Browns that a true Godfather offer was in the works. Maybe \u2014 I guess \u2014 the Browns just really don\u2019t know how the next two to five months will go and wanted to keep all options open, and Garrett was willing to communicate and cooperate just in case.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s probably some combination of those. And though I still lean toward it not actually happening, it should have happened a year ago. Lots of factors and complications, and a trade even coming close to happening would mark a stark departure from how the team operated 14 months ago. I\u2019m watching closely and wondering which teams would truly open the vault.<\/p>\n
Lloyd: Back to the quarterbacks. Monken said he has seen a lot of good things out of these guys, which, fine. This was still the worst quarterback room in the league last year, and at least right now, it remains exactly the same. No matter how fast I run from it, I still keep hearing talk of Deshaun Watson actually running out on the field as the Game 1 starter. Zac, I see no upside in trotting Watson back out there. What am I missing?<\/p>\n
Jackson: I\u2019ve been hearing it, too \u2014 and I don\u2019t mean in these news conferences. I mean going back two months during (and around) our standard offseason travels and activities. Lots of people think the Browns really believe they can still get something out of Watson. I call that the definition of insanity, and even if Watson stays healthy and plays OK for a month or so, how does that help the franchise achieve any of its real long-term goals?<\/p>\n
Lloyd: Nothing will change with this franchise until the Browns solve the quarterback question. Playing Watson ahead of Shedeur Sanders feels like an admission to me that the organization doesn\u2019t feel Sanders is the one. Which, fine, I tend to agree with them. But if I have to choose between Sanders and Watson, I\u2019m choosing Sanders every time. What is the benefit of playing Watson? You might win one extra game? Maybe two? Great. All that does is push you down deeper in the allegedly quarterback-rich 2027 draft and make it more difficult to find the next guy. And round and round we go.<\/p>\n
Jackson: We all have quarterback fatigue on some level, and if yours is high as a reader and follower, I understand and respect that. But right now, talk about voluntary workouts and the camaraderie in the defensive meeting rooms is just burying the lede. The quarterback competition is all that matters here because it defines what this team can be \u2014 and what it will try to be. Even semi-competent quarterback play combined with great defense helps the 2026 Browns put out a much better product than they have the last two seasons. Anything short of Sanders taking a giant leap means the Browns are fully playing for 2027 (and beyond), and in that scenario, any commitment short of a complete commitment to the future seems a waste of time.<\/p>\n
Stefanski got fired because he didn\u2019t win and the offense flatlined. But the construction of the offense was a much bigger issue than the coaching, and the failure of the Watson trade completely slammed the window shut. Good players are gone and not coming back, and Garrett and Denzel Ward are not renewable resources.<\/p>\n
Lloyd: There are just so many holes, particularly on offense. I would welcome and encourage a trade down, although I\u2019m not sure there is much of a market for their pick. I left the league meetings feeling like there were no great options at No. 6. You can punch holes in all of the receivers, all of the offensive linemen, and there\u2019s not just much sizzle.<\/p>\n
It feels like there is no clear Joe Thomas or Malik Nabers waiting, which complicates the task facing general manager Andrew Berry, who is already under considerable pressure. Jimmy Haslam has essentially said he needs to duplicate last year\u2019s draft. If he doesn\u2019t, we all know how this will end.<\/p>\n
Jackson: I\u2019m eager to see how Monken handles the quarterbacks. I\u2019m eager to see how Monken deploys Harold Fannin Jr. I\u2019m eager to see if Quinshon Judkins is going to be a good back or a really good back. I think this team needs him to be really good, just like it needs another really good draft. So whether the folks in charge really think this team is going to be in the AFC North mix in 2026 or they\u2019re setting up for a full run at relevance sometime around 2028, this draft is crucial. More cornerstone pieces are needed. Actual NFL-quality wide receivers are needed.<\/p>\n
Lloyd: Something to start selling hope (and PSLs for the new stadium) is desperately needed by 2027.<\/p>\n
Jackson: Agreed. Is that wins or a bunch of premium 2027 and 2028 draft picks? Let\u2019s check back in May.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ahead of the NFL Draft and just a few days after the start of the offseason program, beat…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":864739,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5],"tags":[54,7,49,48],"class_list":{"0":"post-864738","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ncaa-football","8":"tag-cleveland-browns","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-ncaa","11":"tag-ncaa-football"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116391334669191084","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/864738","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=864738"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/864738\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/864739"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=864738"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=864738"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=864738"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}