Kenny Pickett took all the first-team reps for the Browns in 11-on-11 drills to open camp and earned high praise. Since then, Cleveland has mixed and matched a lot more, Pickett, for example, working second-team yesterday. While Joe Flacco remains the favorite to start the season, Pickett has earned praise from his quarterbacks coach.
“His first two days have been stellar”, Bill Musgrave said, via the Browns’ website. “He had one throw where he was late yesterday and resulted in an interception, which is okay. We don’t want interceptions. But at times we learn a lot from when we stub our toe even more than when we have our triumphs. But he’s had his share of triumphs these last two days, especially throwing on the run. Incredibly accurate for just jumping back into camp after us being off for a number of weeks this summer”.
A former first-round pick of the Steelers, Kenny Pickett is on his third team in as many seasons. Last year, he served as the backup to Jalen Hurts on the Super Bowl-winning Eagles. They acquired him via trade from the Steelers, later trading him to the Browns.
Cleveland acquired Pickett before signing Flacco, but then also drafted two quarterbacks. First, they selected Dillon Gabriel in the third round, and later, as he continued to fall, they added Shedeur Sanders. Sanders is the player with arguably the most upside, but he has to earn his snaps right now.
By and large, the reports out of Browns camp about Kenny Pickett have been positive. He has shown some mobility, which is not an unknown aspect of his game. To hear Musgrave talk about incredible accuracy, though, does not fit with his history, especially on the move. That’s actually an area in which he struggled with the Steelers when attempting to throw off his base. There were also more negative reports about how he played in the spring.
Nominally, the Browns are attempting to hold a four-way quarterback competition. Up to this point in the offseason, the veterans Kenny Pickett and Joe Flacco have led the way. But Musgrave also spoke highly of Gabriel and Sanders, begging the question as to when they might see more opportunities.
Speaking prior to yesterday’s practice, Musgrave noted they were set to re-evaluate the quarterbacks. After considering the current position, they might alter their current approach, perhaps the order and volume of snaps each quarterback sees. Flacco already sits out a lot as the grizzled veteran of the group, but could Pickett also lose more work to the rookies? And how stellar, how incredibly accurate does he need to be to begin the season as a starter?
