Why new Browns HC Todd Monken may be 'drawn' to Shedeur Sanders over Deshaun Watson

A recent update indicated that Shedeur Sanders and Deshaun Watson are essentially on equal ground as it pertains to the Cleveland Browns' competition for the starting quarterback job.

On Wednesday morning, NFL insider Jason La Canfora of SportsBoom US repeated previous claims made by others and noted that "Monken is open to the idea of Shedeur Sanders being his starter in 2026." 

Why Todd Monken may prefer coaching up Shedeur Sanders over Deshaun Watson

"Those who know [Monken] well believe he is drawn to someone like Sanders, who some thought would be selected in the first round (of the 2025 draft) and ended up falling all the way to the fifth round for reasons that were not merely related to on-field ability," La Canfora wrote.

Specifically, Sanders' alleged handling of the predraft process last offseason seemed to cause teams to pass on him multiple times until the Browns took a flier on the former Colorado star in the fifth round of the player-selection process. 

Shortly after the Browns hired Monken, he seemed to confirm a previous story that said the Baltimore Ravens wanted to select Sanders with the 141st pick of the 2025 draft before the Ravens learned that Sanders didn't want to go to a team where he'd be a backup for somebody locked in as that club's first-choice starter (Lamar Jackson in this instance). 

Monken was serving as Baltimore’s offensive coordinator at this time last year. La Canfora hinted that Monken wanted to get his hands on Sanders as a "developmental option" in 2025. 

"I know this about Todd," an assistant coach who knows Monken told La Canfora about the coach trying to help Sanders become a long-term franchise quarterback. "He won’t shy away from that kind of challenge. I think he kind of eats that stuff up."

Browns seemingly have made this significant quarterback decision

The Browns reportedly won't be trading for Indianapolis Colts backup quarterback Anthony Richardson Sr. this offseason. Cleveland also seemed to make no real effort to sign Malik Willis, Kyler Murray or Tua Tagovailoa in free agency. 

Veteran Kirk Cousins is still available, but it sounds like he won't be joining the Browns anytime soon. 

"It’s unlikely the team makes a major move at QB before the draft," La Canfora added about the Browns. 

Barring a surprising development, it seems likely either Sanders or Watson will open the 2026 season as Cleveland's QB1.