Todd Monken’s mandatory minicamp seeks to answer questions at quarterback, offensive line and receiver

Where did the spring go?

Todd Monken’s first spring season as Browns coach comes to a close this week under torrid temperatures that portend a stifling and sweltering training camp.

Just the way Monken likes it to prepare his team for a red-hot start to the regular season. Back-to-back opening games in Jacksonville and Tampa promises Monken will put his new team through an endurance and conditioning test in July and August.

But that’s getting ahead of ourselves.

Starting on Tuesday, Monken finishes off nine weeks of the offseason program with a three-day mandatory minicamp. With Myles Garrett living the life in Hollywood after his trade to the Rams, Monken faces no issues that would compromise his task to get his team ready for the season.

Voluntary workout absentees Denzel Ward and Grant Delpit are expected to be back in uniform, defensive tackle Maliek Collins will return from offseason post-surgery rehab in Houston, and the quarterback competition may enter a new stage.

Nine full OTA practices, plus three in a voluntary minicamp in April, produced more questions than answers about the kind of team Monken will trot out on September 13.

If these questions are not answered by the end of minicamp on Thursday, they will linger into the opening of training camp, unofficially, on July 28.

1. Will Monken designate a QB1 and QB2 between Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders to head into training camp?

This seemed to be trending toward Watson until last Wednesday when Monken delivered a message that Sanders was making the decision difficult.

At the Browns Foundation golf event on June 1, Monken said, “The next six days will go a long way into how we go into fall camp. And we’ll have in our minds, I think, where we’re at in every position. Every position you have a form of a depth chart in your mind, and maybe it won’t be locked in, but certainly the [quarterback] reps will have to get distributed differently once we get to camp.”

Two days later, after the last OTA witnessed by media, Monken changed the message.

“I’m not sure we’ll be there [to name a QB1],” he said. “I’m just not. I think both quarterbacks have played well enough where we haven’t really been in pads. We haven’t played any games yet. Haven’t really got to that point yet. Every day I kind of lean one way or the other with quarterbacks. But we still got to get to that point.”

Monken concluded with an interesting comment.

“I’ll just tell you, we got two starting level quarterbacks. We really do,” he said.

Is Monken truly considering starting Sanders ahead of Watson? Or was that comment a message to other teams?

Watson can’t be traded. Sanders can.

2. Whither Dillon Gabriel?

I considered Gabriel the Browns’ backup quarterback-of-the-future when Andrew Berry drafted him in the third round in the 2025 draft. But it’s been a tough spring for the Heisman Trophy finalist.

His practice reps have been reduced significantly from his rookie season under Kevin Stefanski. He has taken no practice reps in OTAs with the presumptive first-team offense.

Gabriel had a tough week last week. After the trade of Garrett, which brought Rams edge rusher Jared Verse to the Browns, Gabriel saw his No. 8 automatically given to Verse, who wore it with the Rams. Verse’s nickname is V-8, and it’s obvious he and the Browns intend to keep that alive.

Gabriel will relinquish No. 8, but his future number is unclear. NFL numbers police require quarterbacks to wear numbers from 1 to 20. But all are taken right now on the Browns’ roster – except for No. 14, which is retired in honor of Hall of Famer Otto Graham and will not be reassigned.

The Browns have inquired to the NFL about this dilemma and may request injured linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah’s No. 6 to be assigned to Gabriel – at least through training camp. JOK has not retired and is on an injury list, but he may never play again.

Otherwise, Gabriel will have to wear a number outside the 1-20 range set forth by the NFL for quarterbacks.

No. 95 is available.

3. Can Monken settle on a starting five on the offensive line?

Last week, Monken promoted No. 1 pick Spencer Fano to the first team at left tackle.

“I really feel like I have a pretty good idea of four of the five [starters],” Monken said. “And then we got to figure out who’s that fifth.”

This last piece involves a key decision – who opens the season at center?

Free-agent pickup Elgton Jenkins has been the center with the first team. Jenkins played nine games at center last season with the Packers, but his best position is left guard, where he’s earned two Pro Bowl berths.

The Browns would like for fifth-round rookie pick Parker Brailsford to earn the starting center position, but it might take a while. If Brailsford needs time into the regular season to prove he can handle it, Jenkins would play center, Zion Johnson would play left guard, Teven Jenkins would play right guard, and the tackles would be Fano and Tytus Howard.

If Brailsford comes on, he would allow the Browns to move Elgton Jenkins to left guard and Johnson would move to right guard. Teven Jenkins would be the interior backup and Dawand Jones would be the swing tackle off the bench.

“As we start to move the pieces around and get them together, I think we’ll have a better idea,” Monken said. “I don’t know that [starting offensive line] yet, though. I have a pretty good idea of the O-line. I really feel like I have a pretty good idea of four of the five. And then we got to figure out who’s that fifth. I really feel good about the three we’ve brought in and Fano and then who’s going to be the fifth?”

4. Can Jared Verse be acclimated in minicamp so that he can hit the ground running in training camp?

Verse, acquired in the Garrett trade to the Rams, is the newest foundation player on defense.

He joins defensive tackle Mason Graham, linebacker Carson Schwesinger, cornerback Tyson Campbell, and safety Emmanuel McNeil-Warren in the nucleus of defensive players that will take the team into the new Brook Park stadium in 2029.

Verse can’t fill Garrett’s shoes, but if his promising career after two years with the Rams reaches a higher level in coordinator Mike Rutenberg’s attack scheme, he will be a stalwart with the Browns for years to come. He is eligible for a new contract after the 2026 season.

Notice that the defensive “nucleus” mentioned above does not include cornerback Denzel Ward and safety Grant Delpit.

Ward, 29, and Delpit, 27, could be trade chips if Berry doubts they are part of the team’s future. Ward has two years on his contract; Delpit is in the final year of his. Both players could be part of the future, or could not be.

5. Can receivers KC Concepcion and Denzel Boston be immediate impact players as rookies?

In the OTA season, Boston was more consistent catching the ball and running routes than Concepcion.

But Concepcion’s skill set as a dynamic “separator” kindles images of Baltimore Ravens receiver Zay Flowers, who was a consistent performer in three years with Monken as that team’s offensive coordinator. Concepcion’s punt return potential is unlimited, too.

Wearing No. 12, Boston  (6-4 and 215 pounds) is the most impressive physical specimen at the receiver position since Josh Gordon (6-3, 224). He doesn’t have Gordon’s speed, but Boston has looked fluid as route runner and has strong, dependable hands.