Todd Monken is about to begin his first season as an NFL head coach with the deck seemingly stacked against him. The Cleveland Browns have one of the worst quarterback situations in the entire league, which could severely limit the team’s potential.
With no QB help expected to arrive before Monken raises the curtain on his open competition for the job, he will have to make the best out of whatever Deshaun Watson, Shedeur Sanders or Dillon Gabriel can provide. He can start by getting the players around the quarterback to raise their games.
Insider Zac Jackson recently raised a challenge to Monken this season, which is to get Jerry Jeudy to play like the No. 1 wide receiver he is paid to be.
“You want me to be a believer in Todd Monken as this offensive miracle worker? Then let’s see Jerry Jeudy have one of those seasons. The Browns are still committed to him. They could not trade him if they wanted to. They immediately extended him, and everybody said, ‘What are you doing?’ He’s never been consistent, but he needs to play better. He’s still the No. 1 on this team, and he is paid like a big-time, reliable player, and he has not been a reliable player whatsoever,” Jackson said.
.@AkronJackson says if you want him to be a believer in #Browns HC Todd Monken as an offensive Master Mind – Fix Jerry Jeudy!
▶️| https://t.co/5SruWvjuR2 pic.twitter.com/DrFIYz1OIR
— Ultimate Cleveland Sports Show (@ultCLEsports) April 7, 2026
Jeudy is about to enter the second season of a three-year, $52.5 million contract extension he signed after being traded to the Browns in March 2024. Though the average annual value may pale in comparison to some of the other wide receiver contracts around the league, Cleveland did not get much value from it in its first season.
Jeudy looked like he definitely deserved that type of deal in his debut season with the Browns after being acquired from the Denver Broncos for the paltry price of two late-round draft picks. He posted 90 catches for 1,229 yards and four touchdowns in 2024 to earn his first Pro Bowl selection.
However, as Jackson mentioned, more than one-third of those yards came in just three games, with the rest of his production spotty at best. That carried over into the 2025 season, when he managed to total just 50 receptions for 602 yards and did not have a game with more than 78 yards receiving, despite playing in all 17.
Granted, a lot of that can be blamed on the subpar quarterback play the Browns received from Joe Flacco, Gabriel and Sanders last season, but if that is not going to change, Monken and Jeudy have to figure out a way to get the most out of Cleveland’s highest-paid receiver.
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