What Todd Monken's arrival means for Shedeur Sanders, Browns QBs - ESPN

Todd Monken embraced Shedeur Sanders with a hug on his first day inside the Browns' practice facility as Cleveland's head coach, but then tugged on the young quarterback's arm to give him some grief.

«We tried to draft your ass last year for God's sake,» Monken joked as Sanders laughed. «It all worked out.»

As offensive coordinator of the Baltimore Ravens, Monken was a part of the organization that attempted to select Sanders as he dropped to the fifth round of the 2025 NFL draft, but Sanders told the team not to draft him as he did not want to back up a bona fide starter in Lamar Jackson. That history prompted questions as to Sanders' status as Cleveland's QB1 after Monken was named the Browns coach on Jan. 28.

At his introductory news conference last week, Monken sidestepped the opportunity to anoint Sanders as the Browns' starter, saying it's «still to be determined.»

it all worked out<a href=«https://twitter.com/Bullseye_Event?ref_src=» https:>@Bullseye_Event

| <a href=«https://twitter.com/hashtag/DawgPound?src=hash&ref_src=» https:>#DawgPound pic.twitter.com/5UC9kjyZnv

Even as general manager Andrew Berry had said that Cleveland would explore its quarterback options this offseason, part of Monken's appeal was his ability to work with the team's current group of quarterbacks — Sanders, Deshaun Watson and Dillon Gabriel — and meld his scheme to their differing skill sets.

With a coaching career that spans three decades, Monken is well versed in a bevy of schemes, from the Air Raid system to the power run game. Monken's philosophical beliefs on quarterbacks, especially the value of an athletic passer, could inform not only how the Browns approach targeting a quarterback but how the incumbent passers fit into a