NFL insider names who Browns 'want' to win starting QB job

Cleveland Browns wide receiver Diontae Johnson caused a stir when he predicted the club would name Kenny Pickett its Week 1 starting quarterback over veteran Joe Flacco, 2025 third-round draft pick Dillon Gabriel and 2025 fifth-round choice Shedeur Sanders.

On Tuesday's edition of NFL Network's "The Insiders" program, league reporter Gregg Rosenthal addressed Johnson's take. 

"I think Diontae Johnson is right that the Browns want Kenny Pickett to win the job," Rosenthal explained, Steelers Depot's Matthew Marczi shared. "But I think Joe Flacco will win the job. My main reason is just watching how Kenny Pickett has handled his last two opportunities. The film does not lie."

Rosenthal was referencing how the Pittsburgh Steelers selected Pickett in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft but traded him to the Philadelphia Eagles during the 2022 offseason. Pickett spent the bulk of the 2024 campaign as a backup with Philadelphia before the club traded him to Cleveland for backup Dorian Thompson-Robinson and a 2025 fifth-round pick in March. 

Pickett was named the frontrunner to win the Cleveland quarterback competition back in April. However, Flacco seemingly entered the summer penciled atop the Browns' depth chart, partly because he was the "best pure thrower" of the four quarterbacks throughout springtime workouts. 

On a recent episode of the "Orange and Brown Talk Podcast," Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer said that Sanders "does not have a good chance to start" when the Browns host the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 1 on Sept. 7. Meanwhile, Rosenthal noted that the Eagles' Howie Roseman is widely respected as one of the NFL's top general managers. 

"[Roseman] basically decided to give Kenny Pickett away," Rosenthal added during the segment. "...I think Joe Flacco's gonna be a better quarterback than [Pickett]." 

FanDuel Sportsbook seems to agree. As of Wednesday morning, that outlet had Flacco as a +110 betting favorite to win the Week 1 QB1 gig over Pickett (+200 odds). Gabriel was third on the list at +500 odds, followed by Sanders at +700. 

The biggest reason Cleveland would "want" Pickett to emerge as the starter is that he turned just 27 on June 6, meaning there's at least a small chance he could become a long-term answer at the position. Flacco is 40 and could retire following the 2025 campaign. 

That said, the Browns may feel they have to start the quarterback who produces the best overall summer performance to prevent others in the locker room from checking out early into the season. Pickett should receive opportunities to prove doubters wrong during exhibition contests, starting with Cleveland's preseason opener against the Carolina Panthers on Aug. 8.