Todd Monken Revealed Everything at the NFL Owner Meetings

We just sat through Todd Monken's full 38-minute press conference from the NFL Owner Meetings live on the CrocPot Podcast. And I'm going to be straight with you — I came out of that more encouraged about this Cleveland Browns team than I've been in a long time. Not because Monken was flashy or made wild promises. But because everything he said made sense. And without him ever saying a name, he basically told us everything that was wrong before he got here.

First thing I want to address — Shedeur Sanders. Look, I understand why Monken is being careful publicly. But when you actually listen to what he said, Shedeur is the guy going into OTAs. Monken said the reps are going to be based on "what we've seen in the past and where the year ended last year." That's Shedeur. He started the last seven games in 2025, the team won the final two, and he's been in Monken's office more than anybody else since day one. Shedeur gave the man a gold porcelain horse's head for his birthday. It's sitting on his desk. That's not just a player showing up — that's a franchise quarterback campaigning for his job before the work even starts.

What I kept saying on stream is the thing I can't get past. Shedeur Sanders won games last year with the worst offense in the league. As a fifth-round pick. Dillon Gabriel had the same opportunity, more reps, more preparation, the same exact roster — and couldn't get it done. Shedeur found a way. So I don't understand what the "but" is. I genuinely cannot wrap my head around why we're still leaving the door open at this point.

Now on Deshaun Watson — I'm keeping it real. Monken met with him once. Watson hasn't been in the building. He's been training off-site. Monken said he hasn't drilled deep into Watson's film yet, and the reason he gave actually told me everything. He said watching Watson play in that Browns offense under those conditions wasn't a fair representation of who Watson is as a player. That's not a shot at Watson. That's Monken being honest that the situation was so bad the tape is almost unusable as an evaluation tool. He's going to give Watson every chance to compete when OTAs start. But everything still points to Shedeur.

The part of this press conference that got me most excited wasn't the quarterback stuff. It was when Monken talked about the offense itself. He straight up said there's going to be a big learning curve. New playbook, new terminology, new everything. And then he said the words I've been waiting to hear from this organization for years — he talked about running the football and making defenses deal with you. He called it old-school mentality. He talked about having a fullback, gap schemes, physical downhill runs. That's Ravens football. That's championship football in the AFC North. We have been trying to finesse our way to wins without the pieces to do it. Monken is bringing bully ball back to Cleveland.

"What I'm most excited about is that he can evaluate and adjust. How many times did we say Kevin Stefanski cannot adjust to anything? He ain't adjusting to his players. This year, when something's not working — we might actually see an adjustment."

The other thing I can't let go is the moment Monken talked about what he learned from his mentor Dirk Koetter. He said the whole philosophy comes down to this: after turnovers, you want to be really good on offense. Be explosive and stop explosives. That's it. And I sat there thinking — how many weeks did I sit in this chair watching the Browns get a turnover and come away with three points? How many times did this team get the ball in good field position and just do nothing with it? Monken said it without saying it. Scoring off turnovers is basic winning football. We didn't do it. Now we have a head coach whose entire system is built around exploiting those moments.

On the draft — here's what I picked up and I don't think enough people are talking about it. When Monken was asked about the offensive line in this draft class, he said there's "excellent depth" at that position. Not an elite prospect. Not a guy we're targeting at six. Excellent depth. That's the language of a team planning to get their linemen in the middle rounds, not with the sixth overall pick. I said it live and I'll say it here — I don't think the Browns take an offensive lineman at pick six. They're either taking a receiver, trading back to stack more picks, or doing something we haven't seen yet. And when Monken described what he wants in a wide receiver — big, fast, physical, ball skills, run after catch — that description sounds a lot like Carnell Tate to me.

Here's the thing about Todd Monken that I think is the most important point of all of this. Kevin Stefanski was a first-time head coach learning on the job. He had to play it safe. He couldn't go off script because his career was still in its early chapters. His decision-making had guardrails on it whether he knew it or not. Monken is 60 years old. He's worked under Dirk Koetter. He worked with Kirby Smart. He spent six years with John Harbaugh. He built the number one offense in the NFL. This man is on the back nine of his coaching career and he knows it. And when you're on the back nine and you're two-twenty out with water on the left and woods on the right — you take the three wood and you go for the green anyway. That's Monken. There is going to be a moment this season where it's time to go for it, and Todd Monken is not going to be afraid to pull that trigger. We have not had that kind of coaching courage in Cleveland in years.

I'm not crowning anything in April. The season hasn't started, OTAs haven't started, and nothing is guaranteed. But when I watch that press conference and hear a head coach speak with that level of clarity and football intelligence — I feel something I haven't felt watching this team get ready for a season in a long time. I feel like we actually have a plan. Shedeur is the guy. The offense is going to be different. The coaching staff is aligned. And the man in charge has been here before and knows what winning looks like. Draft is 21 days away. CrocPot Nation — stay locked in. We're just getting started.