Shedeur Sanders earned the initial first-team reps this week, and Browns HC Todd Monken thinks he is “being more decisive.” Sanders still faces a looming training camp rotation with Deshaun Watson. Watson managed just 11.4 Fantasy Points Per Game in seven starts last season before a second consecutive year ended on injured reserve.
This fluid depth chart offers very little job security to open the season, making both Sanders and Watson highly volatile selections in early fantasy football drafts. Sanders has youth on his side and is the preferred option for dynasty managers.
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Cleveland Browns head coach Todd Monken welcomed a future meeting with Deion Sanders, publicly praising second-year quarterback Shedeur Sanders for his dedicated offseason work ethic stating, “First of all, I can’t wait. I’ve got a lot of respect for Coach Sanders, obviously as a player, but also what he’s done as a coach, and obviously he’s done a great job with Shedeur as a father.” This coaching alignment matters because Sanders is locked in a direct training camp battle with Deshaun Watson to secure the team’s starting role for the 2026 season.
Todd Monken also said he won’t name a starting quarterback coming out of minicamp. While Watson possesses the veteran contract, Sanders offers fresh upside demonstrated by a 40-point performance vs. Tennessee in 2025 as well as a 69.3-percent completion percentage during his collegiate career. Watson is the favorite for early-season snaps, but Coach Sanders will be working behind the scenes to ensure that Shedeur Sanders is given an opportunity to perform at the NFL level again in 2026.
The propaganda campaign out of Cleveland is growing louder that Deshaun Watson will actually get the first crack at the starting job. Despite throwing for a meager 3,365 yards across 19 total games with the Browns and returning from dual Achilles tears, Todd Monken is dusting off tired offensive concepts in an attempt to salvage Watson’s career.
Unfortunately, Monken cannot ressurect peak DeAndre Hopkins and Will Fuller. Watson’s massive contract dictates that he will temporarily suppress the rookie’s breakout momentum to open the 2026 season, but his play style is from a different era, and his arm and legs are shot.
Meanwhile, second-year signal-caller Shedeur Sanders lurks with a superior 90th-percentile College QBR of 78.2. Sanders is a dynasty superflex sleeper as he is the favorite to be under center in the second half as the Browns not-so-tactfully tank for Arch Manning in 2027.
Deshaun Watson is reportedly healthy and in a “great head space” as he prepares for an “ongoing competition” for the starting role, presumably against high-profile newcomer Shedeur Sanders. The 30-year-old veteran carries a massive $34.9 million salary for 2026, a steep price given he has played only 19 games since 2021 due to dual Achilles injuries and past legal controversies.
Watson could legitimately slow down Sanders’ breakout momentum in 2026. While team leadership is calling for fan support, the high-stakes battle between the expensive incumbent and the rising rookie will be one of the NFL’s most scrutinized storylines this summer. Superflex dynasty leaguers would be wise to buy the dip on Sanders.
The Cleveland Browns a quarterback at No. 182 in Taylen Green, an athletic marvel with a 43.5-inch vertical and a 4.37-second 40-yard dash. Green scored a 9.99 Relative Athletic Score and a solid 19.9 Breakout Age, proving he possesses the “cheat code” dual-threat profile—verified by his historic 777 rushing yards at Arkansas—to completely wreck defensive game plans.
In dynasty Superflex formats, Green is an interesting late round flier or taxi squad add, as the expectation is that Shedeur Sanders and Deshaun Watson will compete for the starting job for Todd Monken’s Browns.
Monken recently reached a new level of coachspeak ridiculousness when he expressed excitement over the Browns quarterbacks’ strong start and their impressive command of the team’s new offensive playbook during offseason workouts.
The position group currently features newcomers Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel alongside veteran Deshaun Watson, who is recovering from major injuries and carries a franchise crippling salary. Although no starter has been named, Sanders is reportedly the frontrunner to lead the offense when the season begins.
Watson is the new Russell Wilson. He will start games in 2026, but Sanders is projected to play more games and carries some value in dynasty leagues. Cleveland will be hyper-focused on finding a new franchise QB in the 2027 NFL Draft. Until then, only the team’s ancillary weapons can be considered solid buy low options in dynasty.
