- Sanders posts the better preseason grade: Shedeur Sanders earned a 72.3 PFF passing grade across two preseason appearances, compared with Watson’s 59.1 mark.
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The Cleveland Browns‘ quarterback competition has reached its conclusion.
Cleveland will name Deshaun Watson its starting quarterback for Week 1 against the Jacksonville Jaguars, according to multiple reports Monday. NFL insider Jordan Schultz was first to report the news.
Head coach Todd Monken has not yet publicly named a starter but is scheduled to speak to reporters Monday.
Deshaun watson: PFF grades and rank since 2017
Season Snaps PFF Grade Rank 2017 464 68.1 26 2018 1163 80.9 13 2019 1144 82.7 8 2020 979 92.4 3 2022 386 54.7 36 2023 383 67.3 27 2024 415 63.1 33Watson emerged from a four-man competition that also included Shedeur Sanders, Dillon Gabriel and Taylen Green, though Watson and Sanders received the bulk of the opportunities to win the job throughout training camp and the preseason.
The two quarterbacks alternated first-team practice reps and each received an opportunity to start during Cleveland's first two preseason games, with the other entering for the third quarter.
The decision gives Watson the first opportunity to lead Cleveland's offense when the Browns open the regular season in Jacksonville on Sept. 13.
2026 preseason
The preseason results alone didn't make Watson the obvious choice.
Sanders earned a 72.3 PFF passing grade across his two preseason appearances, more than 13 grading points higher than Watson's 59.1 mark. The second-year quarterback also produced the better adjusted completion percentage, while recording one big-time throw and one turnover-worthy play.
Watson finished his 27 attempts without a big-time throw and recorded two turnover-worthy plays.
Deshaun watson vs. Shedeur Sanders: 2026 Preseason
Metric Deshaun Watson Shedeur Sanders PFF passing grade 59.1 72.3 Attempts 27 22 Adjusted Comp. % 79.2% 80.0% Yards per attempt 6.0 7.0 Big-time throws 0 1 Turnover-worthy plays 2 1 Big-time throw rate 0.0% 4.2% Turnover-worthy play rate 6.1% 3.6%Sanders also held the advantage when separating their performance by pressure.
The second-year passer earned a 60.3 PFF passing grade under pressure, compared with Watson's 44.7 mark. Sanders completed 4-of-7 pressured attempts for 49 yards with one big-time throw and one turnover-worthy play, though two of those passes were intercepted.
Watson went 4-of-11 for 43 yards with one interception and two turnover-worthy plays.
Deshaun watson vs. Shedeur Sanders: performance under pressure (2026 preseason)
Metric Deshaun Watson Shedeur Sanders PFF passing grade 44.7 60.3 Attempts 11 7 Completions 4 4 Passing yards 43 49 Big-time throws 0 1 Turnover-worthy plays 2 1 Interceptions 1 2From a clean pocket, Sanders again held the advantage in PFF passing grade. He earned a 76.4 passing grade on 15 attempts without pressure, compared with Watson's 72.8 mark on 16 attempts. Watson completed 12 of those passes for 119 yards, while Sanders completed 11 for 104 yards. Sanders threw the only touchdown between the two, and neither quarterback recorded a turnover-worthy play from a clean pocket.
Shedeur Sanders' performance in 2025
Sanders' promising preseason comes after a difficult introduction to the NFL.
The Browns quarterback earned a 44.1 PFF grade as a rookie in 2025, and his struggles weren't isolated to one particular area. He earned a 51.4 passing grade from a clean pocket, ranking 42nd among 43 qualifying quarterbacks, while his 38.4 grade under pressure ranked 36th.
The problems extended across several common passing situations. Sanders' 48.7 passing grade on throws released in less than 2.5 seconds ranked 42nd among 43 qualifiers, and he wasn't significantly better when holding the ball longer, earning a 43.0 grade on throws taking more than 2.5 seconds.
His 39.1 passing grade when defenses didn't blitz ranked last among the 43 qualifying quarterbacks.
Shedeur Sanders: performance in 2025
2025 situation PFF passing grade Rank Clean pocket 51.4 42nd of 43 Under pressure 38.4 36th of 43 Blitz 56.8 34th of 43 No blitz 39.1 43rd of 43 Throws under 2.5 seconds 48.7 42nd of 43 Throws over 2.5 seconds 43.0 42nd of 43Accuracy was one of the few areas in which Sanders showed more encouraging signs. PFF charted 62.1% of his passes as accurate, which ranked 11th among the 43 qualifying quarterbacks. Another 17.2% were deemed catchable but inaccurate, the sixth-best mark in the group. However, 20.7% of his attempts were charted as uncatchable and inaccurate, ranking 31st.
Few schematic answers elevated his play. Sanders earned a 51.8 passing grade without play action but fell to 29.2 with it, the lowest mark among qualifying quarterbacks. His 51.8 grade from shotgun ranked 40th, while his 27.8 mark from under center ranked last.
That context makes his work this preseason more notable, even if the sample remains small. Sanders raised his passing grade to 72.3 through two exhibition games, including a 76.4 mark from a clean pocket and a 60.3 grade under pressure — two areas in which he ranked near the bottom of the league as a rookie.
Watson's career
For Watson, winning the job represents another opportunity to prove that the quarterback Cleveland acquired can still resurface.
His last sustained stretch of high-end play came in Houston. Watson produced 42 big-time throws against just 14 turnover-worthy plays in 2020, his final season with the Texans.
Wins Above Replacement
Deshaun Watson · QB
-0.17 1.02 2.22 3.42 4.62 2017 2018 2019 2020 2022 2023 2024 2017 · 0.51 WAR · Rank 33 of 75 at QB 2017 · 0.51 WAR · Rank 33 of 75 at QB 0.51 2018 · 2.78 WAR · Rank 12 of 73 at QB 2018 · 2.78 WAR · Rank 12 of 73 at QB 2.78 2019 · 2.62 WAR · Rank 10 of 73 at QB 2019 · 2.62 WAR · Rank 10 of 73 at QB 2.62 2020 · 4.12 WAR · Rank 3 of 83 at QB 2020 · 4.12 WAR · Rank 3 of 83 at QB 4.12 2022 · 0.17 WAR · Rank 42 of 86 at QB 2022 · 0.17 WAR · Rank 42 of 86 at QB 0.17 2023 · 0.35 WAR · Rank 35 of 85 at QB 2023 · 0.35 WAR · Rank 35 of 85 at QB 0.35 2024 · 0.48 WAR · Rank 21 of 69 at QB 2024 · 0.48 WAR · Rank 21 of 69 at QB 0.48 Player WAR Positional avg Select a season for WAR rank Avg QB (200+ snaps)That high-end play has largely disappeared since he joined the Browns. Watson recorded just two big-time throws and nine turnover-worthy plays in 2022 before improving to six and four, respectively, in 2023. In 2024, his most recent regular-season action, he produced eight big-time throws against five turnover-worthy plays and earned a 63.1 PFF grade.
That 63.1 PFF grade is still comfortably ahead of Sanders' 44.1 rookie-year mark in 2025. But his 2026 preseason performance didn't create the same separation.
On to Week 1
Cleveland has made its initial choice, but Watson's performance will determine how comfortable that choice becomes.
Sanders will begin the season behind him after producing the stronger PFF passing grade during their preseason auditions, and the Browns have already shown a willingness to give the second-year quarterback meaningful first-team opportunities.
Watson won the competition and, with it, the right to start Week 1. What he does with that opportunity will determine whether Cleveland needs to revisit the decision.