The Cleveland Browns quarterback room is the most headline-worthy topic in the NFL, as Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders are locked in an entirely open competition for the QB1 spot. As the competition goes on, Browns rookie KC Concepcion shared his take on the heated offseason discussion.
KC Concepcion Speaks Up on Shedeur Sanders-Deshaun Watson Competition
Concepcion has the potential to become an important playmaker for the Browns in his rookie season due to his ability to create separation and generate explosive plays, and he has already drawn comparisons to Zay Flowers.
During his final college season at Texas A&M, Concepcion averaged 7.2 yards after the catch, fueling expectations that he can make an immediate impact in Cleveland’s offense as Sanders and Watson battle for the QB1 job.
With NFL training camps set to begin in about a month, Concepcion shared his thoughts on the Browns’ QB competition after spending time with both Sanders and Watson during the offseason.
“It’s been amazing, both of those guys, you know, are amazing people, amazing teammates, you know, amazing quarterbacks,” Concepcion said. “You know everybody is fighting for a spot on the roster. So, it’s going to be, you know, intriguing, you know who comes away with it.”
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Watson entered the offseason as the presumed frontrunner because of his experience and lucrative contract, but multiple injury-plagued seasons and inconsistent performances have weakened his hold on the QB1 job. He played at an elite level with the Houston Texans in 2020, but he has yet to consistently reach that level in Cleveland.
Meanwhile, Sanders threw for 1,400 yards and 7 touchdowns across 7 starts (8 appearances) last season, earning an F grade in the PFSN QB Impact Metric with a 56.7 score.
Cleveland.com reporter Chris Fedor sparked heavy debate this week on 92.3 The Fan by saying he would rather poke himself in the eyes than watch Sanders play quarterback in the NFL. Fedor also labeled Sanders as statistically “one of the worst quarterbacks that we’ve ever seen” in the league.
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However, Sanders has reportedly made significant progress throughout the offseason, and ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler recently noted that the quarterback has “bridged the gap” in the competition with Watson.
As for a comment from Cleveland QB coach Mike Bajakian, he praised both signal-callers for embracing the challenges of the offseason program.
“Shedeur’s done a great job,” Bajakian said. “They’ve both done a great job with that. I love coach’s approach to install and how we’re challenging them. We’ve thrown a ton at them from a volume standpoint, from an install standpoint; in terms of cadence, procedure, the ability to drive the car and get us in and out of the right plays.
“They’ve embraced it, and they’ve both done a great job of it. So I credit the coach’s philosophy of throwing it at them early, and it’s almost like, ‘Hey, you’ve got to sink or swim,’ and they’re both swimming.”
Head coach Todd Monken hasn’t crowned anybody yet for the starter role, and so the competition will seemingly be more fierce moving forward.
