Can Browns rookie QB starter pull off a Brock Purdy?
With Deshaun Watson sidelined for the season with a shoulder injury, Cleveland will start rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson over journeyman PJ Walker at quarterback, per head coach Kevin Stefanski, via ESPN's Jake Trotter.
"I think they feel like the ceiling is higher with Dorian Thompson-Robinson," ESPN senior NFL insider Adam Schefter said Wednesday on "The Pat McAfee Show," "They think with a full week of practice to prepare, DTR gives them the best chance to win."
Could DTR — a fifth-round pick from UCLA — play a role similar to what San Francisco's Brock Purdy did last season?
In 2022, the 7-4 49ers turned to rookie Purdy after losing Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo to season-ending injuries. The seventh-round pick rode a league-best defense and an elite supporting cast — headlined on offense by running back Christian McCaffrey and receivers Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk — to the NFC Championship Game.
The Browns (6-3) turn to DTR with a league-leading defense of their own. Cleveland's crop of skill players isn't as talented as San Francisco's, but it is good enough to make Thompson-Robinson the right choice to run the offense.
Like Purdy, who was a longtime starter at Iowa State, DTR had a wealth of experience as a starter in college. In 49 games at UCLA, he set school records for passing yards (10,710) and passing TDs (88).
DTR also showed off dynamic playmaking ability in the preseason, completing 63.8 percent of his passes for 440 yards and two touchdowns and adding another 69 yards on five rushes.
Walker has played in four games and is 1-1 as a starter in 2023, including a win over San Francisco, but he didn't impress anyone. He fell short of 200 yards passing twice and threw five interceptions and one TD pass. Plus, he has a woeful 49% completion percentage this season and a career completion percentage of 54.9%.
In his only 2023 start, a 28-3 loss to Baltimore, DTR threw for 121 yards and three interceptions without a touchdown. That's not good. But the Browns already know what they have in Walker, who clearly doesn't have the potential Thompson-Robinson has.
Browns fans shouldn't expect UCLA DTR — or preseason DTR or even Purdy — but if he limits turnovers and takes even a little bit of pressure off a dominant defense, Cleveland should be OK.
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