Browns minicamp: QBs slowly making strides, Denzel Ward still in top form

New York Times

a day ago

Save for a couple of passes thrown in the direction of tight end David Njoku and a few offensive snaps destroyed by all-world defensive end Myles Garrett, what we've seen through two days of mandatory minicamp for the Cleveland Browns is mostly what we saw in brief glimpses of rookie minicamp and voluntary organized team activities.
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We've been largely tracking the quarterback competition. It's the most intriguing and important part of this early phase of the Browns' road back from 3-14, and it's what is easiest to watch in any non-contact spring setting. This year just happens to have the Browns trying to find something from a group headlined by the 40-year-old Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett on his third team in three years and two rookies drafted in April, Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders.
Flacco gets the fewest reps because he's the most experienced. He's been in the NFL since Sanders was in kindergarten. Pickett is usually first in the warmup lines and first up for a lot of drills. Gabriel goes first with the backups because he was drafted before Sanders. On each of the first two days of minicamp, Gabriel has taken snaps with the No. 1 offense in full-team situations against at least most of the No. 1 defense.
Dillon dart 🎯 pic.twitter.com/wsFZF0UZUc
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) June 11, 2025
What we've continued to hear from Browns coach Kevin Stefanski is that the quarterback order doesn't matter and, in many cases, the results don't, either. Stefanski has repeatedly said the Browns are installing plays, stressing fundamentals and just getting the quarterbacks ready for training camp this summer. Those are boring answers, but they match what we've seen on the field and what a normal May and June process would be for almost any team, even in this abnormal situation.
From my view on the sidelines, these two minicamp practices have been Gabriel's best throwing days. He's finished both strongly after erratic starts. Sanders comes in and generally gets the ball out of his hand quickly and confidently. Flacco can still fling it when he's asked to, and Pickett has been unremarkable.
But this is about process more than results — even if that line makes longtime Browns fans cringe — and that shows up in the work that's done on the practice field before reporters scramble to record certain throws for social media or chart each passer's daily performance.
On Wednesday, for example, the quarterbacks went through extended work on shotgun handoffs and play-fakes. We've heard both rookies discuss leaning on Flacco in the meeting room for his experience on how to diagnose defensive concepts, and we've twice heard Flacco say the rookies even want to mimic his cadence as part of them trying to digest everything that's being taught at this early stage.
Stefanski has said the team has now gone through seven different installation packages for the offense. Just by the natural order of things, the quarterbacks should be completing more passes than they were in mid-May. But sometimes the defense knows what's coming, too, and almost all of the true highlight throws and catches that end up on social media have been made in 7-on-7 settings.
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To go full Allen Iverson, this is just practice. This is about the small stuff — details, brief introductions, little tips and tricks — that later can help with the big stuff.
The quarterback competition that got bigger on the final day of the draft was never going to be super interesting until August. It's fair to say, too, that the addition of Sanders is actually what makes it intriguing. Not just his presence, but the accuracy and decisiveness he's shown this spring.
The Browns having four quarterbacks has re-shaped everything about how they handled the offseason program, and it will be the headline story of the summer.
From here, the belief is that Flacco is the clear favorite to win the first phase of that competition and the starting job. How the rest of it shakes out is anyone's guess, but Sanders has been good enough this spring to make coaches believe he's worthy of more chances this summer. I think he's earned that, and based on what we've seen to this point, Sanders has positioned himself to make the roster and eventually make the folks in charge think about where he might belong on the depth chart.
That's all getting way ahead of things right now, so we'll defer to what Stefanski has repeatedly said and pump the brakes. Here at the end of what can fairly be called a three-week quarterback camp, Flacco is the best passer, and Sanders made enough impressive throws to make me think Cleveland might be on to something with him.
A camp that features real football and ends with real decisions that could shape the future of the franchise starts in about six weeks. Let's save most of our overreactions for then.
Last summer, the Browns rewarded Pro Bowl cornerback Denzel Ward with a practice off on the last day of minicamp for his perfect attendance through every phase of the offseason program. Ward has had perfect attendance again this year.
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Being present means something to Ward, who's now in his eighth season. Frankly, Ward's presence has prevented almost all of Cleveland's quarterbacks from having more completions in the open practices, and that's part of making everyone better.
Ward said Wednesday what I thought was obvious: that 2024 was his best season. He appears to be in top form again, and the best version of Ward gives the Browns a chance to be good enough defensively to help the team collect some wins early in the season.
The defense is going to greatly miss the presence of injured linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, but just getting a little more help from the offense and being better up front with first-round defensive tackle Mason Graham can help the Browns' defense create the kind of havoc it might need.
Ward dropped several potential interceptions last season, and defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz has cited those as 'the difference between (Ward being) Pro Bowl and All-Pro, the game-changing plays.' Ward has taken that challenge, and he's the best player in an experienced secondary that has the team's No. 2 and 3 cornerbacks, Martin Emerson Jr. and Greg Newsome II, both signed only through 2025.
In the grand scheme of things, I don't think Garrett and Njoku choosing not to participate in the voluntary OTA practices means much. But I do think the Browns are going to purposefully have a more competitive training camp than they had last year, and I think the search for stronger leadership and a hungrier overall outlook are going to be consistent themes.
I think Schwartz heads to each week of the season believing he can count on Ward and Garrett to be among the best in the game, and that's a pretty good place to start.
The wide receiver group has been short-handed with Cedric Tillman and Michael Woods II watching from the sideline with what are believed to be minor injuries. Tillman is a locked-in starter for this team if healthy, and Woods has a shot to make the roster and the wide receiver rotation, too.
Thus far, it's been Jerry Jeudy and then everybody else in these spring practices. Given what the Browns pay Jeudy and the way he performed in the back half of last season, that's no surprise.
.@jerryjeudy with room to run 🏃‍♂️💨 pic.twitter.com/zoMw0hMY0X
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) June 11, 2025
But the Browns didn't draft a receiver. Two days after the draft, they signed Diontae Johnson to a one-year deal that includes no guaranteed money. Johnson is a proven producer, but he's been on five teams in the last 15 months and told reporters Wednesday that Cleveland was really the only team calling him earlier this spring.
Johnson was clear he's focused on what's ahead, not the past, and not what he repeatedly said was just one bad year. Stefanski said much of the same, and something close to the best version of Johnson should be able to help the Browns.
Second-year wideout Jamari Thrash seems to be making the most of the extra opportunities he's received this spring. The Browns loaded up on undrafted rookie receivers to make sure there were enough available players for the extra passing periods.
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But unless either Thrash or Woods makes a big leap, the Browns still might be in the wide receiver market in August. And if Johnson doesn't work out or Tillman doesn't build on the momentum he created last year before missing the end of the season with a concussion, the team runs the risk of the receiver group reverting to what it mostly currently looks like: Jeudy and everyone else.
Maybe Njoku is in for a big season. He's in a contract year, so he should be engaged and looking to re-find his form. I believe the Browns got a nice player for the future in third-round tight end Harold Fannin Jr., but Fannin's early role might depend on how quickly he can be trusted to block — and how much the coaches trust the other players in the pass-catching group.