There are always sayings in professional sports, even if they are not always backed up by data or film. Things like “low man wins” and “if it touches your hands, you should catch it.” Sometimes, jumping over someone works, and it takes an impressive effort to even get a finger on a pass, with catching it being impossible.
The NFL has been a “head coach, offensive play caller, and quarterback league” for a while now. The Cleveland Browns hope they have the first two locked up with HC Todd Monken, but
few believe that Deshaun Watson, Shedeur Sanders, Dillon Gabriel, or Taylen Green fit the mold of a franchise-level quarterback.
With the 2026 season about to kick off, Watson will get the first shot at proving pretty much everyone wrong.
With college football’s Week 1 going into full swing on Saturday, many are already focused on what is expected to be a historic quarterback class. Will the Browns be bad enough, lucky enough, or package enough draft picks together to get the franchise guy in the 2027 NFL draft? Way too many things will happen between now and then for anyone to really know.
The cyclical nature of the NFL calls into question whether the “coach, play caller, QB league” is still a truism.
Between the first quarterback (Dan Marino) to throw for 5,000 yards and the next one (Drew Brees), 24 seasons took place without anyone reaching the mark. Since Brees’ 2008 season, 5,000-yard passing seasons have happened 13 times, but the last one was in 2002 (Patrick Mahomes).
In the last two seasons, there were just six quarterbacks to throw for more than 4,000 yards.
In an article on CBS Sports, Pete Prisco outlines five reasons “the explosive NFL passing game has plummeted over the past decade” and tries to answer “will it ever return?”
The reasons all make sense, starting with shell coverage and creative defenses. That college systems are not developing offensive linemen or quarterbacks like they used to may never change, but coaches playing it safe can. The offensive coaches quoted in the piece believe they can find ways to be explosive again, but note that they will be much more difficult.
Instead, the solution is part of the cycle of the NFL. More big bodies (13 personnel – 1 running back, 3 tight ends, 1 wide receiver) is something the Los Angeles Rams have already moved to. Redefining what an “explosive” passing play will be is also part of the process:
“If I am going to throw the ball 40-45 yards down the field one-on-one, my quarterback has to put it in a perfect spot. That’s hard to come by. So find different ways to create explosives.”
“It’s like a 20-yard in cut, so you bet your ass this is an explosive play now. Look at the defense. They are just sinking with no vertical threat. So if you want to throw a go-ball here, you can’t. So you attack the middle of the field as they get width. You take advantage of what you can win with and what I took away from our self scout was our quarterback’s good at throwing seams and ins, and he’s really good at it.
So, with Cleveland currently void of certainty at the quarterback position, they’ll need a guy who can still control the game, make the big-time throws, and instill fear into the defense and confidence into his offensive teammates. Yet, with passing numbers coming down, do the Browns need to mortgage the future to find that guy, or should they try to get on the front edge of this cycle by building a complete roster while finding a quarterback along the way?
After all, as one of our DBN Feed posters said, Cleveland fans always want the team to run the ball anyway:
Do you think the NFL cycle is moving away from QB dependence? Do you think the Browns would be foolish to go all-in on a guy in the ‘27 NFL draft (assuming none of the current QBs light it up) given the passing trends?
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