There’s no doubt that the fight to be the Browns’ starting QB is on fire, and it’s a story that will be remembered for a long time – especially because one of the contenders is the high-profile Shedeur Sanders, who had a polarizing college career in the NCAA and is now doing the same in the NFL.
Shedeur Sanders shined in his final year at Colorado with 37 touchdown passes and over 4,000 passing yards. That was enough for draft analysts to project him as a potential first-round pick. However, surprisingly, he slipped all the way to the fifth round, where the Cleveland Browns selected him with the 144th overall pick.
Now, Shedeur Sanders finds himself as the fourth quarterback in the Browns’ depth chart – despite his considerable talent. That’s largely because the roster already includes veterans Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett, both former first-round picks, as well as rookie Dillon Gabriel, who was selected two rounds ahead of Sanders.
Diontae Johnson prefers Kenny Pickett over the other Browns quarterback contenders
At the Cleveland Browns training camp, most of the buzz has surrounded Joe Flacco being the expected starter – at least to open the season – as well as the talent shown by Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel. But the name heard the least is Kenny Pickett, and it has been repeatedly suggested that the former Steelers and Eagles QB could be on his way out.
However, wide receiver Diontae Johnson – Pickett’s former teammate with the Steelers who now finds himself reunited with him on the Browns – appeared on the Sports and Suits podcast and revealed that he believes the Browns are going to go with Pickett as the starter, which would be a surprising twist given the criticism aimed at the 2022 first-round quarterback.
“I think [the Browns] are gonna roll with Kenny [Pickett] right now,” said Johnson. “I’ve been seeing Kenny, right now, with the ones – and then Joe [Flacco] will come in. I think they’re probably gonna roll with [Pickett], just like to see – coming off the season he was with Philly and having a Super Bowl.”
Pickett spent a couple of years with the Steelers and started 24 games before being traded to the Eagles, where he won a Super Bowl as Jalen Hurts’ backup. During this offseason, he became the first quarterback signed by the Browns.
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