The Cleveland Browns are less than one week away from the beginning of training camp, and all eyes are on the quarterback competition set to ensue between Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders.
Both players have an interesting backstory entering the season, and it seems to be a toss-up as to who will win the job. Watson is coming off a lost season where he did not play a game due to injury. We last saw him in 2024, when he played poorly after starting seven games that season. He went 1-6 in those games and had five touchdown passes to three interceptions.
Even though Sanders did not play much better in his rookie season, he is younger and likely has greater upside. Many Browns fans want Sanders to be the starting quarterback in 2026, but former Brown Andrew Hawkins made a concerning prediction on that front.
Andrew Hawkins Thinks Browns Will Start Deshaun Watson Over Shedeur Sanders
Hawkins joined “The Pat McAfee Show” to discuss what the Browns are going to do at quarterback, and he said, “I think Deshaun Watson will be the day one starter.”
If Watson does win the job, it is likely because he is the veteran in the room. The Browns may want to see what Watson has left to begin the season before turning things over to Sanders or even Dillon Gabriel.
“I think Deshaun Watson will be the day one starter,” – @Hawk on the Browns week 1 starting QB.
(Via @PatMcAfeeShow) pic.twitter.com/YmucJ4xfJ8
— ESPN Cleveland (@ESPNCleveland) July 23, 2026
Hawkins continued, “I think they open up with Deshaun Watson, and then when the real bullets are flying, then they are really gonna have to really make decisions on if this is giving us the best option, or do we go back to Shedeur.”
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The Browns have been in quarterback purgatory for many years. They have not had a franchise quarterback for a few decades and continue to have poor seasons as a result. There is no guarantee that anyone on their roster will be the face of the franchise, but it is worth finding that out this season.
Many people expect the Browns to be one of the worst teams in the NFL yet again. Once they traded away Myles Garrett, it was clear they were continuing their rebuild, and new head coach Todd Monken will have his work cut out for him this season.
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In his rookie season, Sanders threw for 1,400 yards, seven touchdowns, and 10 interceptions, while completing 56.6% of his throws. According to PFN’s QB Impact Metric, he had an impact score of 63.0, which ranked second-worst in the league.
Cleveland’s offense as a whole was poor last season. According to PFN’s Offense Impact Metric, they ranked last in the league with an impact score of 54.0.
The Browns will be fun to watch this training camp and preseason just to see what happens at quarterback. If Sanders puts on a show during that month, the team may have no choice but to turn the reins over to him.
