Cleveland Browns wide receiver Diontae Johnson caused a stir when he predicted the club would name Kenny Pickett its Week 1 starting quarterback over veteran Joe Flacco, 2025 third-round draft pick Dillon Gabriel and 2025 fifth-round choice Shedeur Sanders. On Tuesday’s edition of NFL Network’s “The Insiders” program, league reporter Gregg Rosenthal addressed Johnson’s take. “I think Diontae Johnson is right that the Browns want Kenny Pickett to win the job,” Rosenthal explained, Steelers Depot’s Matthew Marczi shared. “But I think Joe Flacco will win the job. My main reason is just watching how Kenny Pickett has handled his last two opportunities. The film does not lie.” Rosenthal was referencing how the Pittsburgh Steelers selected Pickett in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft but traded him to the Philadelphia Eagles during the 2022 offseason. Pickett spent the bulk of the 2024 campaign as a backup with Philadelphia before the club traded him to Cleveland for backup Dorian Thompson-Robinson and a 2025
