When the Cleveland Browns announced that QB Deshaun Watson would undergo season-ending shoulder surgery, the expectation was that P.J. Walker would be named the starter for Sunday’s matchup with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Walker had started two games and played significant snaps in three while Watson battled injuries, but instead, the team threw a curveball and named rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson the starter.
Thompson-Robinson had started just one game this season, in Week Four against the Baltimore Ravens. But offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt said Thursday that Thompson-Robinson’s preseason performances and the fact that he was thrust into the starting job just hours before kickoff against the Ravens made him worthy of getting another start.
“Just felt like Dorian, if you take out any averages of the curve — you take out the best game, you take out the worst game — there’s still a lot of good football. We felt that DTR has put [it] on tape throughout the preseason as well. Understanding the fact that getting thrown into it last time the way he did, maybe it’s a mulligan deserved, lessons learned for him and then we’ll move out. But we’re excited to have him starting this week and expect him to step in and take care of the football and do some of the things he didn’t do last time. I think he’ll learn from that,” Van Pelt said via transcripts provided by the Browns.
Van Pelt added that Thompson-Robinson has been a standout in practice and played well enough there to earn a second opportunity.
“Last few weeks he’s been really good in practice, stand out, good on the scout team stuff. The stuff, the throws he was making, the anticipation he threw with his footwork has increased, gotten better over the last four or five weeks,” Van Pelt said. “Just felt like he was ready. He’s ready for a second opportunity.”
The Browns were confident in Thompson-Robinson backing up Watson after the preseason, so much so that they traded QB Josh Dobbs to the Arizona Cardinals. However, his one start didn’t go well, the UCLA product throwing for just 121 yards with three interceptions in a lopsided loss against the Ravens in Week Four.
Cleveland turned to Walker, who went 2-1 in games he got significant playing time (he came off the bench in the first half to replace Watson against the Indianapolis Colts after Watson suffered an injury). But it’s clear that Thompson-Robinson, a fifth-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, has impressed in practice enough to get the nod against the Steelers. Walker, who while winning games, wasn’t setting the world on fire with a 1:5 touchdown-interception ratio.
Thompson-Robinson doesn’t have an easy task ahead against Pittsburgh’s defense, which is going to try and bring the heat with Cameron Heyward, T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith rushing the passer. The Steelers brought Watson to the ground six times in the AFC North rivals’ first matchup in Week Two, and they’ll look to put up similar sack totals against Thompson-Robinson on Sunday.
Given that Thompson-Robinson was a standout in the preseason and likely gives the Browns a little more upside, it’s understandable why they’d turn to him. Add in the fact that he actually gets the week to prepare as the starter, something that didn’t happen in his first start against Baltimore, and the Steelers need to take him seriously. Just because he’s a backup doesn’t mean he can be written off, and in a hostile road environment in the AFC North, the Steelers are going to have to bring their best on Sunday.
