Browns training camp Week 1 takeaways, including Shedeur Sanders playing clean
· Yahoo Sports
BEREA ― And on the fifth day, the Browns shall rest. On the fourth day, however, the Browns had themselves some fireworks in training camp.
There was the offense finally finding its way into the end zone, and on multiple occasions. There was the defense intercepting passes, and from multiple quarterbacks.
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There was also some pushing and shoving between plays, multiple of them, including one punch delivered that would've made Mike Tyson proud if it had landed.
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So now the Browns will step away from all of that excitement and take their break on Aug 2. They'll come back to full pads on Aug. 3, as well as six practices in six days.
That allows for a chance to step back and make some observations of what's been seen and heard over the first four days of training camp.
Shedeur Sanders has played cleaner football than Deshaun Watson
Coach Todd Monken said before practice that the true evaluation of his two quarterbacks will really take off once the eight-practice install period ends next week. That means Aug. 7 will be the first practice outside of the install period.
However, it's impossible not to notice what you're seeing. Shedeur Sanders has, over the course of four days, played cleaner football than Deshaun Watson.
Day 4 was the perfect encapsulation of it, even though it included Sanders' first interception of training camp. Watson had three more interceptions ― two by safety Christopher Edmonds ― to raise his camp total to six.
Watson's three on this day were against the No. 2 defense, compared to three over the two days he went against the Browns' No. 1s. Sanders threw his against the Browns' No. 1 defense, with D'Angelo Ross out-leaping Jerry Jeudy for the pick.
There's still plenty of time, even according to the coach, for things to change. Considering that Monken's default reaction to any interception is to say they rank somewhere around a colonoscopy, continuing to throw them at a rate he has, especially with Sanders consistently showing a little more accuracy across the board.
Denzel Boston continues to be the real deal at wide receiver
Denzel Boston was taken with pick No. 39 in April's draft. Somehow, that might have been a steal.
Boston was one of the bright spots during the offseason program, with what seemed like a spectacular catch a day. Turns out, that was just the introduction to what the former University of Washington wide receiver would do over the first four full-squad practices of training camp.
The latest example came on Day 4. This time, it was Boston leaping over Tre Avery to make a catch down the sideline.
Those have been the norm for Boston, whose 6-foot-4, 215-pound frame was what drew the Browns to pick him despite having taken KC Concepcion in the first round at No. 24. They envisioned him being that guy to go up and get it in the red zone or on a big third-down play.
Concepcion has had his own moments over the course of the first four days, including a couple of big grabs Saturday. However, his fellow rookie has stolen the show the same way he has stolen passes from defenders.
Browns defensive line dominating at line of scrimmage
The biggest winner of them all this week has been the Browns' defensive line. The No. 1 group of Jared Verse and Alex Wright at the ends and Mason Graham and Mike Hall Jr. have spent so much time in the offensive backfield that they could apply for residency there.
That's been a big reason for a lot of the offensive struggles during the first week of camp. There's a better than 50-50 chance that, if a pass play was called over the first four days, the quarterback ― whomever it might have been ― had defenders all around him as he tried to throw.
Verse and Graham have been two of the most active, which is what you'd want to see from two former first-round picks. However, Wright continues to look like the Browns found, if nothing else, a solid complementary edge rusher in the third round of the 2022 draft, while Hall is starting to show that second-round potential he had coming out of Ohio State.
That's also why tempers flared for a moment Saturday during a red-zone drill. The scuffle seemed to start betweenm right tackle Tytus Howard and defensive tackle Sam Kamara, but it was right guard KT Leveston and Wright who proved to be the most active combatants.
Things ramp up as pads come up starting Aug. 3
This first week has been nice in terms of getting the players back in a routine. It's been nice to continue to get a feel for the new offensive and defensive schemes.
The next step comes Aug. 3. When the Browns return to the practice field, they will do so with full pads on, taking the preparations to the next level.
Monken has routinely used the caveat about no pads when trying to tap the brakes on any overzealous reactions to what has happened so far in camp. With pads coming on, he expects to get a much better read on many of the biggest questions.
Expect this next week to be a key point for the offensive line and its construction. Likewise, it will be a big moment for the running game and seeing how Quinshon Judkins, Dylan Sampson and others work within the new scheme.
Chris Easterling can be reached at [email protected]. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ. Sign up for Browns Insider newsletter at https://profile.beaconjournal.com/newsletters/browns-insider/
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Browns training camp Week 1 takeaways, including Shedeur Sanders playing clean