The Cleveland Browns are perfectly happy with Kenny Pickett being a mentor to Colorado Buffaloes football legend Shedeur Sanders and fellow 2025 NFL draft pick Dillon Gabriel in OTAs and minicamp.
Yahoo Sports’ Jori Epstein reported Pickett’s teaching Sanders play-action concepts this offseason on Friday.
“Pickett has some NFL exposure, but he admitted during mandatory minicamp his minimal experience with the play-action and under-center concepts that Stefanski likes to call. Pickett’s comfort with those concepts grew during offseason installations, and the knowledge he does have at the pro level he not only used but also shared. Sanders looked to Pickett for guidance on marrying footwork correctly with reads, and discerning when a play calls for a three-step drop compared to a five or seven,” Epstein wrote.
Epstein also reported that Pickett could be trade bait if Gabriel is ready to start by Week 1 of the season.
“If Pickett can convince the Browns he’s as ready to thrive in Week 1 as Flacco (or close), he could win that job as the Browns can gain more future upside by investing snaps into a 27-year-old than a 40-year-old. Pickett could also be a candidate for trade bait if Flacco seems healthy and Gabriel is ready for backup duties,” Epstein wrote.
Pickett can teach Sanders and Gabriel, but if he plays too well, he may find himself dealt away from Berea.
It sounds like Pickett wasn’t acquired from the Philadelphia Eagles in good faith by Andrew Berry and Co.
Unless he can take the PR from playing alongside Sanders with him at his next landing spot, and become what the Pittsburgh Steelers were hoping they drafted in 2022.
Then it’s a win-win for both parties, since Pickett has been a great teammate to the rookies this summer.