Though the hire has caused both an uproar by some and a sigh of relief to others, all that matters is what he does for the Browns going forward. He’s been one of the most innovative and successful offensive minds in the game at both the collegiate level with Georgia, winning two national championships, and with Lamar Jackson and the Ravens as of late.
Say what you want about the hire, but Monken undoubtedly knows how to elevate the play of his quarterbacks wherever he is.
He won two national championships with Stetson Bennett at the helm for Georgia in 2021 and 2022, and has led Baltimore’s offense to multiple top 5 overall finishes during his time there. He was also instrumental in leading Lamar Jackson to his second MVP season in 2023.
As far as his outlook in Cleveland, one of the most attractive traits for Browns ownership was the simple fact that he tailors his offenses to the specific types of players he has at the time. He doesn’t try to fit a square peg into a round hole when it comes to personnel usage, and that puts less stress on the quarterback in general.
Typically, Monken has used mobile quarterbacks such as the aforementioned Bennett and Lamar Jackson.
As of right now, he’ll most likely be planning on Shedeur Sanders being his starter in 2026, depending on who else becomes available heading into the offseason. Though there are a couple of Monken-type options scheduled to be available in free agency, such as Daniel Jones and Malik Willis, Sanders will be discussed here as he’s already on the team.
We’ll be diving into Monken’s offensive scheme and tendencies in another article, but Shedeur Sanders has shown quite a few of the things that Monken likes to have in a quarterback already as a rookie.
Sanders can obviously move around while at the same time keeping his eyes downfield when things get chaotic, and this is a signature component of Todd Monken quarterbacks.
It’s safe to say that Sanders probably couldn’t be used on some of the designed QB runs that Monken has used in the past, but that’s not a huge deal, especially if Quinshon Judkins and Cleveland’s ground game is effectively doing what they need to.
From a projection standpoint, Shedeur Sanders should be more than toolsy enough at quarterback for what will be asked of him going forward. Will the team add to the room via the 2026 NFL Draft or in free agency once the new league year begins? Maybe, but at least one thing’s for sure:
Shedeur Sanders could not only be the guy heading into the 2026 season, but he could also excel in Todd Monken’s offense based on what we’ve already seen from him during his rookie year.
