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Nick PedoneAug 16, 2026

Pedone expects Deshaun Watson to win the Browns' quarterback competition and be the Week 1 starter unless Shedeur Sanders dramatically outperforms them in the coming days, while suggesting both Watson and Sanders are only bridge options before Cleveland drafts a quarterback.

Published in writing · Sports IllustratedRead the original

100Hit · out of 100

Depth Chart CallsThe callsettled

0A naive guessthe same call, no knowledge

100This callout of 100

+200Skillafter difficulty

What Nick Pedone said

Unless Sanders blows Cleveland's coaching staff away in the next few days, the team appears to be getting Watson ready to play Week 1.

Our reading: Deshaun Watson to be 1st on the depth chart

Where it was published: Sports Illustrated
The piece: Browns Preseason Opener Proved Obvious Answer to Quarterback Situation
The original: Read the original
Read it wrong?: Tell us and we will look

SaidAug 16
PlayedSep 13
GradedSep 18

How the call scored

a naive guessbetter than naive

One checkable claim, graded on its own against what actually happened.

It names 2 players and teams, each linked to their own record.

The call scored 100 out of 100, against 0 for a naive guess at the same calls.

The call is scored 0 to 100 against what happened, on its own, by the published methodology. The naive guess is what knowing nothing would have scored on the same call; the gap, weighted by how hard the call was, is the skill.

Depth Chart Calls Deshaun Watson Cleveland Browns
Deshaun Watson to be 1st on the depth chart
VerdictHit
100Hit · naive 0
100this call0a naive guess100better than naive2difficulty+200skill
How this was scored
club:
CLE
week:
1
skill:
200
player:
Deshaun Watson
season:
2026
claimed:
he starts
accuracy:
100
baseline:
0
position:
quarterback
reported:
named the starter
settled by:
a confirmed report from the crawl (reported outcomes)
difficulty:
2
the naive guess:
no prior season — a rookie is assumed to start behind the incumbent
weeks in the season:
18
weeks left when called:
18
Think this is wrong?

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