It’s no secret that new Cleveland Browns head coach Todd Monken spent the last three years as the offensive coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens, and while he can certainly adjust his system of offense to whatever style of quarterback he has on hand, Monken grew accustomed to having very mobile former MVP Lamar Jackson under center. Now, there are no other Lamar Jacksons in the league, but it is fair to assume that Monken would like the first starter he employs as a head coach to be a guy who can run–which might be bad news for incumbent Shedeur Sanders.
Or maybe not.
Sanders is not a particularly mobile quarterback, and thrives more as a passing playmaker than a runner. That was his reputation coming out of Colorado last year, when he fell to the fifth round of the NFL draft in a shocking tumble. It’s remained his reputation in the seven starts he had with the Browns to close last year.
But for Monken, the notion that Sanders is not a runner at all does not quite fit.
Browns QBs Have Surprising Mobility
Speaking at the NFL combine this week in Indianapolis, Monken was asked about quarterback mobility and its importance, and acknowledged that he’d like to see that from the next Browns starter. But he added that the players he has on his roster now at quarterback are more mobile than most seem to think.
“All the quarterbacks have mobility,” Monken said. “I think you see that no tape. Shedeur surprised me a little bit, in terms of his—it’s, um, mobile might be (nods), but he’s got a knack, he’s got a feel like he does with play-making. He’s got a real sense of the pocket when it starts to collapse, moving around the pocket and he made more plays and got himself out of trouble ore than I would have guessed, than I would have thought even coming out, which was nice to see.”
Indeed, while Sanders was not reeling off designed runs, he established a good pocket presence as a rookie and made his runs count–Sanders ran for 169 yards and a touchdown in 21 attempts, an average of 8.0 yards per attempt.
Shedeur Sanders Will Have Chance to Be 2026 Starter
Monken, as with Browns general manager Andrew Berry on Tuesday, was careful not to commit to Sanders as the 2026 starter in Cleveland, but he was also careful not to rule him out. That appears to be the Browns’ stance as they weigh whether to move forward with a QB room built around Sanders and Deshaun Watson, or to add more talent to the mix–and how much investment they should make in acquiring that talent.
Asked if Sanders could be the Week 1 starter, Monken left the door open, “Sure he can. I think what you see is elite playmaking ability. That’s in him. You’ve seen it. We’ve seen it. You saw it in college, you saw it on tape last year.
“Sure there’s a ways to go, but what rookie isn’t? I mean what first-year player doesn’t have a long way to go? I’m excited to get started with him and all of our quarterbacks — and all of our players.”
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