Shedeur Sanders' throw-of-the-day resulted in a catch by Gage Larvadain over cornerback Dom Jones, and a long touchdown. (Cleveland Browns)
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is an analyst on the Cleveland Browns for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland. He has covered the Browns since 1984.
Takeaways from Day 1 of Browns mandatory minicamp …
Joe Flacco intentionally received no reps in team or 7-on-7 periods on the first day of minicamp as head coach Kevin Stefanski tries to jam in as many reps as possible for the three quarterbacks new to his offense in the final practices prior to summer break.
“Just trying to be intentional about everything,” Stefanski said. “Certainly, Joe had fewer reps today. That’s obviously on purpose and just trying to find out … get as much of an evaluation on the [other] guys as we can.”
Once again, rookie Dillon Gabriel received some reps against the No. 1 defense after Kenny Pickett led off. With Flacco receiving no reps, rookie Shedeur Sanders was able to get more reps than usual against the No. 2 defense.
But Sanders remained the only quarterback in the OTA and minicamp season not to receive reps against the No. 1 defense.
He has a very mature and healthy perspective on the fact that for the first time in his football career he is at the end of the QB line instead of at the front.
“I’m managing it real well,” Sanders said. “Yeah. Overall, it’s a mentality. A lot of people in certain situations in their own life know that they may not be at the forefront that maybe they had at one point in time, but you got to know it’s going to be bright days eventually, whenever the time comes. So, you just always got to be prepared and you got to mentally take it as just experience.”
Pressed on what exactly is his goal in his rookie season, Sanders expanded on that mature train of thought.
“My goal is to be the best teammate and to be as polished as I can be,” he said. “So, in every aspect, I view things as I got time. I got time to be able to grow and mature, you know, and be able to understand the ins and outs of the defenses and be able to get the good insight from the vets in the room.
“So I look at it as a plus. Like, I got time to actually be able to really have a great understanding. And whenever it’s time for me to play, then it’s time for me to play. But I’m not looking too far in the future about all that. I’m looking about every day in practice because I had some misses out there today that we got to go in there and correct, reads, getting in and out of drops a little bit faster from under center. So that’s the main thing. I’m focused on the small things, and over time, the big things will happen.”
Gabriel, too, has a good handle on his ups and downs in his first camp. He has not been discouraged by the challenges he has met in reps against the No. 1 defense. Many of the PBU’s turned in by the defense were on balls thrown by Gabriel.
He was asked how he measures success going against the No. 1 defense.
“You love to stay process driven,” Gabriel answered. “I think for a lot of people it’s a results-based business, so let’s not get that wrong. But you have to have a process behind it to be able to create consistent results. And I think whether it’s a microwave mentality or that Amazon lifestyle of wanting it right away, sometimes it’s just not the case. So being able to have a process, stick to it, continue to listen to your coaches, and try to get better that way. That’s what I want to do. I want to build a solid foundation so that you’re banking on the process and then allowing that to have consistent results.”
Numbers, please
The passes charted by the ESPN Cleveland team include only periods of 7-on-7, 11-on-11, and modified periods of both. These numbers do not take into account any 1-on-1 periods or those of quarterbacks simply throwing to receivers against no defense.
Joe Flacco: 0 of 0.
Kenny Pickett: 6 of 10, 3 touchdowns.
Dillon Gabriel: 7 of 18, 1 TD.
Shedeur Sanders: 10 of 12, 2 TD.
Sanders and Gabriel each had a throw of note. In a 7-on-7 period, Sanders connected on a deep ball to receiver Gage Larvadain, an undrafted free agent from South Carolina, who raced behind a defender and into the end zone after the catch. Gabriel’s nice throw came in a 7-on-7 red zone period, on a touch pass to the left corner of the end zone that receiver Jamari Thrash high-pointed and caught.
All present and accounted for
All the players who skipped voluntary OTA workouts were in attendance for the first of three mandatory minicamp practices.
That included Diontae Johnson, the enigmatic receiver who was traded twice and waived twice last season and was signed to compete for the WR2 role. Johnson was promptly placed at the back of the long receiver line. Thirteen receivers are on hand, but Cedric Tillman, Michael Woods and David Bell did not participate because of undisclosed injuries.
Johnson had at least one reception, one drop, and one pass broken up by Denzel Ward at the goal line.
Stefanski said, “Diontae’s doing a nice job. Obviously getting up to speed with terminology and those types of things, and I think we’ll just continue to work. But it’s good to have him out here.”
Myles Garrett speaks …
On Jim Schwartz’s assertion that Garrett should have his best season, as a result of the pressure to perform after receiving a $160 million, four-year contract extension:
“I look forward to having my best season for sure, and I think it’s trending that way. Been really good, and I think everything’s pointed in that direction. And I like where we are as a defensive unit. It’s really firing, really rolling, and I think it’s really clicking as far as the scheme and the plays, especially early on. That’s big.”
On feedback from teammates after his statements during his trade request that the team wasn’t ready to compete for a championship:
“I’ve talked to the guys, and … they understand it’s a business and we love what we do, and I love this team, and they understand that I was trying to do what’s best for me. And after talking with them, like I said months ago, talking with AB [Andrew Berry] and Kev, what’s best for me and what’s best for this team, eventually that aligned and we are looking forward to the future of this team and how we can achieve the goals that we want to.”
On whether he lobbied with Berry to bring back Nick Chubb:
“That was part of my talks with AB a couple months ago, asking the situation with Nick and how that’s gonna work out and how we can get him back here, because I know he means a lot to the fans, but he means a lot to us as well on the team. It’s an emotional blow to not have him here, but we got to keep on moving, keep on trucking. We got some very talented backs in that room, some young, hungry guys who have a hell of an example to watch and some shoes to fill. But he’s one of the best to ever do it in the Brown and Orange, and we appreciate everything he’s done.”
Brownie bits
Defensive end Alex Wright was on the field for the first time in the OTA/minicamp season with media present. Wright had surgery in October to repair a torn triceps …
In red zone periods, the offense fielded two running backs on occasion with one in the backfield and the other split wide or in the slot. Rookies Quinshon Judkins and Dylan Sampson, and Jerome Ford, rotated in those periods …
Garrett, on Aaron Rodgers joining the AFC North as the new Steelers quarterback: “I think it’s a good opportunity to put him in the graveyard.”