The Browns chose Deshaun Watson over Shedeur Sanders as their starting quarterback, a decision that answered the depth-chart question without ending the debate over who actually gives the team the best chance to win. First-year coach Todd Monken pointed to Watson's full body of work from the offseason, training camp, preseason games and joint practices as the reason, and he stressed that this was not intended to be a week-to-week decision. So that settles who gets the first opportunity, not whether Cleveland has found its answer at the position.
The much bigger question is whether Watson can be anything close to even an average NFL quarterback. The short answer, based on recent history, is no. Watson's last elite season came in 2020, when he was 25 years old and still in Houston.
Among 36 quarterbacks with at least 200 dropbacks that season, Watson ranked first in yards per attempt (8.9), second in passer rating (112.4), third in PFF passing grade (91.1) and third in positive-EPA rate (54.7%). His 0.24 per dropback ranked fifth. In other words, this wasn't merely an above-average season -- Watson was playing like one of the five best quarterbacks in football.
That player would solve Cleveland's quarterback problem immediately. The problem is that version of Watson hasn't been seen in nearly six years. * I know many of the metrics above have become commonplace in football discussions, but just in case, Positive EPA% basically answers the question, "How often did the offense end a pass play in a better scoring position than it started?" The 2024 numbers are especially difficult to dismiss. Watson's -0.25 per dropback was near the bottom of the league, his 37.8% positive-EPA rate was similarly poor, and he averaged only 5.3 yards per attempt.
His 63.4 PFF passing grade was also well below the average of 72.6. Even before his last catastrophic injury, Watson wasn't playing like an average quarterback. He was playing like the least efficient quarterback in the league.
Watson tore his right Achilles against Cincinnati on Oct. 20, 2024. He underwent surgery five days later, then re-ruptured the tendon during his recovery and required another surgery in January 2025. That setback wiped out his entire 2025 season.
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