Browns minicamp: The QB competition, Dawand Jones' development among things to watch
Ahead of the Cleveland Browns' mandatory minicamp that runs June 10-12, here's a look at what we've seen during organized team activities, including a 'big' story on the offensive line and some thoughts on the state of the passing game as the quarterback competition continues at its unremarkable pace.
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Offensive tackle Dawand Jones is noticeably lighter. He confirmed last week that his weight loss has not just been part of his rehab and preparation for the season, but it's part of his path toward locking down the left tackle spot.
For a roster in transition, Jones being able to solidify himself at left tackle would be a major boost for the offense's present and future — and it's arguably the biggest non-quarterback story of the offseason.
Jones remains a huge man, but he's significantly smaller than last season. The Browns list Jones at 6-foot-8, 374 pounds, and while he's always been open about his story, he has never talked specifics about his weight — even when acknowledging that he wasn't keeping up with his conditioning at points last season. We've seen flashes of his talent in his previous NFL seasons, but both ended due to injury.
Jones needed arthroscopic knee surgery earlier this year that could have kept him out until training camp. He's been part of OTA practices at left tackle, where he played one season in college and three games last year before suffering a fractured fibula.
Jones said he's down 'maybe 20 pounds' but has lost a significant amount of body fat. He said he feels better and is ready for the 'challenge' of staying in shape and locking down the left tackle spot.
'Health-wise, I feel better,' Jones said. 'I should say I feel I took care of my body a little bit better. That was the main thing. Just make those little small adjustments from last year to this year, and just work and get better. Lost a lot of body fat, and I pride myself on that. I'm happy about that.'
One of the surprises of the draft was the Browns not selecting an offensive lineman despite stalwarts Joel Bitonio, Wyatt Teller and Ethan Pocic all entering the final year of their current contracts. Left tackle remains open for the future, but Jones is clearly in the team's plans as the top option ahead of veterans Cornelius Lucas and Teven Jenkins and 2024 undrafted rookie Lorenzo Thompson, who's taking some reps in OTAs with the starters while Jones rehabs.
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In the second open OTA with Bitonio and right tackle Jack Conklin absent, Jenkins worked at left guard with the first offense, while Zak Zinter was at right guard with the second offense. Later in practice, Zinter played some center. That's interesting, as the Browns don't currently have a spot for Zinter, a third-round pick last year who was benched after making a couple of injury-driven starts.
The Browns gave Jenkins around $2.6 million in guaranteed money on a one-year deal. He's been good when healthy and has mostly been a guard, but he's also played some left tackle. The Browns signed Lucas, who turns 34 next month, to be the swing tackle and an emergency option. For both flexibility and effectiveness now and into the future, the best option would be a healthy Jones at left tackle.
Minicamp means mandatory attendance and should lead to a greater comfort level for the offense after six organized team activities.
So, it's fair to expect a cleaner operation from the passing game. It's probably too early to get real clues from the quarterback competition when it comes to number of reps or a real order. The Browns have been sharing, alternating and installing.
In the second open OTA, Joe Flacco took fewer overall reps than the other three quarterbacks. That's probably part of the plan, given that Flacco has 17 previous years of NFL experience and the other three quarterbacks have three — all from Kenny Pickett.
Pickett is first in the warmup lines, and he's shared the reps with the No. 1 offense with Flacco. The Browns mixed in a few chances for third-round rookie Dillon Gabriel with the No. 1 offense in the second open OTA. Fifth-round rookie Shedeur Sanders has been last in line and hasn't taken any reps with the No. 1 offense that reporters have seen, but that's standard. It's hard to imagine any quarterback who's fourth in line taking starter's reps in the first two weeks of an installation-based voluntary practice program.
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In a late-practice 7-on-7 period last week, Sanders threw a dart for a touchdown in the back of the end zone. He celebrated with his 'wrist up' celebration from his college days, marking the first time we've seen that on the Browns' practice fields. It was just one throw and one moment among hours of work, but maybe it's a sign that he's starting to settle in.
If Sanders performs well on the field and inside the facility, he'll get chances to play with older players and at least some starters this summer. But it's going to be August before this competition provides us with any real clues about who might be ascending or how Cleveland plans to divide the reps.
Whether it's quarterback, linebacker or even long snapper, true positional battles won't get interesting until the pads come on in training camp. The Browns appear to have big and immediate plans for multiple members of their rookie class, but OTA sessions are always about instruction and early evaluation before the team's personnel department makes decisions on which rookies might be behind and which outside veterans might be able to help.
The Browns are keeping more wide receivers on their 90-man offseason roster than they usually would to accommodate the quarterback competition and the extra competitive passing periods coach Kevin Stefanski has built into the practice itinerary. But Cleveland was short on receivers in the second OTA, with Diontae Johnson again absent and Cedric Tillman and Michael Woods II watching from the sideline.
On that particular day, the passing game had more misses than hits. Jerry Jeudy was the only starting wideout participating, and the younger receivers were all doing double or even triple duty. The Browns gave Johnson no guaranteed money, but they signed him because they believe he's talented enough to help — and maybe become the starting slot receiver.
Tight end David Njoku has been absent from OTAs, too, and there's a world in which a healthy Njoku could easily surpass 100 targets this season.
This is all a long way of saying that, yes, we'd like to score every practice like a boxing match between the quarterbacks. But Stefanski is giving all four passers a fair shake, and at this point, he's probably most concerned with how offensive coordinator Tommy Rees and quarterbacks coach Bill Musgrave can help the rookies minute by minute on the practice field.
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The Browns probably need help at wide receiver. Flacco will probably win the job at quarterback, in large part because of his experience and ability to hit the crossing routes Stefanski's offense has successfully utilized in the past. If another quarterback has to play and Stefanski has to call 15 dump-offs to Njoku, well, that might work, too.
For now, it's just June. The real fun is coming in August.
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