Is Shedeur Sanders set up to win QB battle in Browns' new-look offense?

BEREA, Ohio -- After a 2024 season in which the Cleveland Browns' offense ranked last in scoring and shuffled through four different starting quarterbacks, the unit has been vastly reshaped in the past several months.

During that time, Cleveland fired offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey and replaced him with Tommy Rees, hired a new offensive line coach in Mike Bloomgren and used five of its seven draft picks on offense. And most notably, Cleveland added four new quarterbacks -- Kenny Pickett, Joe Flacco, Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders -- to the position room this offseason.

The Browns' new-look offense is beginning to take shape with the team starting organized team activities this week, and Cleveland's four-way quarterback competition hovers over the entire unit with the start of the NFL season less than 100 days away.

"It's Day 2 for us, so I think everybody understands where they're supposed to be and when they're supposed to be there," coach Kevin Stefanski said after practice Wednesday. "There's a little bit of directing traffic when you've got two drills going on at one time, but they've done a really nice job. The players and coaches [are] making sure that we're practicing in a safe way. We're getting good looks for our guys to learn from on both sides of the ball and not asking more than we need to of the guys physically."

Here's a look at where each position group stands in the Browns' offense.

Quarterback

Wednesday's practice offered the first look at a possible pecking order in the Browns' quarterback competition. During the roughly 80-minute session, it was veterans Flacco and Pickett who split the first-team reps in team drills. Gabriel and Sanders often followed the two, conducting work with backups and third-stringers. In an attempt to maximize practice reps for each player, the rookies at one point conducted 7-on-7 drills on a separate field from the veterans.

Flacco, who is entering his 18th NFL season, is the most experienced of the group. He also has familiarity with Stefanski's offense after spending the latter portion of the 2023 season with the Browns and helping lead them to the playoffs. But the Browns' decision-makers have said every quarterback added to the room will be expected to compete, and they think highly of each passer. General manager Andrew Berry said the team sought out Pickett, a 2020 first-round pick, as a trade target in the first wave of free agency. During the draft cycle, the team was impressed with Gabriel, which led to the Browns picking him in the third round. And while Gabriel was already on board, Cleveland on Day 3 saw the selection of Sanders in the fifth round as a possible steal given his talent.

After Wednesday's practice, Stefanski again downplayed the significance of the practice rep order and said it would continue to change over the course of the offseason workout program.

"We're mixing it up every single day," Stefanski said. "So that's why I tell you not to read much into it, even though you guys don't listen to me. But we're just trying to get guys exposure to different concepts, those types of things. So, it varies by walkthrough. It can vary by drill. It's not something that we're really -- we're not leaning into or worried about the order at this moment."

Running back

With franchise great Nick Chubb (6,843 rushing yards and 51 total TDs over seven seasons) unlikely to return to Cleveland, the Browns' backfield will look drastically different in 2025. Cleveland drafted a pair of running backs in Quinshon Judkins and Dylan Sampson whose contrasting styles could form a 1-2 punch for years to come. Judkins was a physical downhill runner who amassed 3,785 rushing yards and 44 TDs during his time at Ole Miss and Ohio State, while Sampson (1,491 rushing yards and 22 TDs in 2024) was more of a big-play threat at Tennessee.

The two rookies join Jerome Ford (565 yards and three TDs in 2024), who has filled in as the lead back over the past two seasons while Chubb was sidelined to injury. With the Browns ranking 29th in rushing yards last season, there are plenty of carries up for grabs in Cleveland's backfield.

"I think this is the blueprint of the league, the best way it works with running backs," Sampson said during rookie minicamp. "It's a long season, so you want as many people as you can to go in there and split reps and do good for the team. That keeps everybody fresh. You see it all across the league, and I think we have an opportunity to do that here."

Wide receiver

The Browns enter OTAs with an inexperienced wide receiver room, save for Jerry Jeudy, who broke out with a Pro Bowl campaign in 2024 with a career-high 1,229 receiving yards while scoring four touchdowns. Elijah Moore, who ranked second on the team in catches last season (61), signed with the Buffalo Bills in April. Cleveland had signed wide receiver Diontae Johnson two days before, but the veteran pass catcher has not posted a 1,000-yard season since 2021, when he was with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He is also coming off a year in which he spent time with three different teams and was released twice.

At his best, Johnson is one of the best route runners in the NFL. Since entering the league in 2019, Johnson ranks first in ESPN's open score, which assesses the likelihood that a receiver would be able to complete a catch if he were targeted. The Browns covet strong route runners and he could fill a much-needed void opposite Jeudy. Young pass catchers such as third-year player Cedric Tillman and second-year wideout Jamari Thrash will receive opportunities to carve out larger roles, but the two have a combined 53 career catches. Johnson and Jeudy are the only wide receivers on the roster who have caught at least 50 passes in a season.

"His route-running ability, his ability to separate, drop his weight in and out of routes, it's special," Pickett said of Johnson, whom he played with in Pittsburgh. "So, I'm excited to get back out there with him."

Tight end

Entering his ninth season in Cleveland, David Njoku is looking to bounce back after injuries limited him to 11 games a year after his lone Pro Bowl campaign in 2023. The Browns could look to run more two-tight-end sets in 2025 and have the personnel to do so after drafting former Bowling Green standout Harold Fannin Jr. in the third round after leading all FBS pass catchers in receptions (117) and receiving yards (1,555) in 2024.

Berry called Fannin, the Mid-American Conference Offensive Player of the Year, the "queen on the chessboard" because of his ability to line up at multiple positions on the field.

"He's a really good ball-in-hand player, can separate as a pass catcher despite being a little bit undersized," Berry said. "He's really a good movement style blocker, and he fits perfectly in terms of what Kevin and Tommy want to do philosophically on the offense."

Offensive line

Despite on-field struggles and injuries that derailed the offensive line in 2024, the Browns opted against major changes to the position group. Left guard Joel Bitonio announced his return for his 12th NFL season, and the team agreed with right tackle Jack Conklin to a reworked contract that will keep him in Cleveland for the 2025 season. Center Ethan Pocic and right guard Wyatt Teller also return for another year with the team, and former 2023 fourth-round pick Dawand Jones, who took over at left tackle before a season-ending leg injury and then arthroscopic knee surgery in the offseason, was back at practice Wednesday.

The Browns also added experienced depth in Cornelius Lucas and Teven Jenkins, who started seven and 14 games last season, respectively.

After the 2024 season, multiple Browns offensive linemen advocated for a return to Stefanski's running scheme, which the team diverted from in an attempt to build an offensive system around quarterback Deshaun Watson. With more familiarity in Stefanski's scheme and better health, the Browns' hope is that they will get more consistent play from a unit that has been the anchor of the offense for several years.