Much of the focus in the Browns' training camp and preseason was on the Deshaun Watson vs. Shedeur Sanders quarterback battle, which Watson officially won on Monday. On Thursday, though, another quarterback with a noteworthy background finally took the stage.
Sixth-round rookie Taylen Green made his preseason debut in the second half of the Browns' preseason finale against the Patriots, taking over after second-year quarterback Dillon Gabriel gave way. (Gabriel, for what it's worth, lit it up in the first half, going 12-for-15 for 186 yards and three touchdowns. That's a good sign for both Cleveland, which selected him in the third round last year, and for Gabriel, who hadn't exactly impressed this preseason.) Pinned deep in his own territory on his first drive, Green nearly scrambled for a first down on third-and-9 but came up a yard short. Again in the shadow of his own end zone and behind the sticks, Green nearly pulled a Dan Orlovsky and ran out the back of his end zone, but instead turned a broken play into this ...
Rookie, Taylen Green, showing off his speed 🏃NEvsCLE on Prime VideoStream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/Vf6XHfIMw6 He was accurate on a pair of short passes before showing off his legs again, first scrambling for 9 yards on third and 5 and later 5 more yards on third and 4. He also converted a quarterback sneak before Davon Booth capped the drive with a 12-yard rushing touchdown. On his third drive, he added 12 more rushing yards on two carries, but the drive petered out when Green misfired badly on third and 9.
The Browns' defense got a late interception to set up Green for a chance at his first NFL touchdown, but Cleveland's offense had to settle for a field goal to put a bow on a 37-13 win. Overall, Green finished 5-for-7 for 27 yards throwing and had a game-high 66 rushing yards on just eight carries. Green is an absurd athlete, and not just in an "athletic for a quarterback" way.
At the NFL combine back in February, the Arkansas product posted ... The vertical jump and the broad jump were both best ever for a quarterback at the combine, and his 40-yard dash was the second-fastest for the position, only behind Michael Vick. All of that athleticism is packed into a 6-foot-6, 230-pound frame that is on par (or better than) the prototype quarterback numbers.
For some non-quarterback context, how about ... Quite the comp for @RazorbackFB QB Taylen Green 👀 @dkm14 2026 NFL Combine on @nflnetworkStream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/BUtxInUeDJ Green threw for 2,714 yards, 19 touchdowns and 11 interceptions (on an SEC-best 13.7 yards per completion) last year while also picking up 777 yards rushing and eight scores on the ground. But his falling to the sixth round wasn't exactly an accident.
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