Todd Monken Press Conference — April 24th, 2026

[0:02] As you look at everything, all the activity you guys have done [0:07] across the first few days, [0:11] how much better do you feel about where this roster is [0:16] as you kind of take the next step forward? [0:19] I feel great addressing the receiver room and the O-line room [0:24] along with the safety position. [0:29] I think as we went into the draft, [0:32] and I think Andrew can speak to this more than I can, [0:34] but it's where we hoped we would head, where we would address. [0:44] See him as a tackle to start, obviously has some flex we think could move inside. [0:50] Talk about back-to-back receivers in the first and second round. [0:54] That doesn't happen often, so what is your reaction to get those two guys? [1:00] Well, I think he complements. [1:02] If you take Denzel after KC, I think he complements. [1:06] KC, he's a different body type than what we have. [1:09] We were looking at someone we thought could be a size matchup, [1:16] and especially in the red zone, which we did not have. [1:19] So, loved his competitive spirit. [1:22] I'm just talking about Denzel now. [1:24] Spoke with Jed Fish, his head coach at Washington, [1:27] who I've got a ton of respect for. [1:30] Been in the NFL and raved about Denzel. [1:34] Loves to practice. [1:36] Competitive. [1:36] A lot of fight in him has come a long way as a player [1:40] and is only going to continue to get better. [1:44] And we certainly needed to just continue to upgrade that position, and we did. [1:48] Coming out, I know you guys came to this house, you know, [1:52] to come out of this draft of players two nights that a lot of folks had first. [1:59] Well, I mean, ultimately now, whether we take them in the first round, [2:06] second round, third round, wherever their grades are now, [2:08] it's up to us as a coaching staff to develop them. [2:11] And that's why we're hired. [2:12] That's why coaches are hired, [2:14] is to develop the players that show up in your locker room. [2:18] And, you know, you're always trying to maximize a player's measurable skill set. [2:23] And that's what we're going to fight like hell to do. [2:25] Is there still kind of a hole in how much discussion? [2:33] There has been. [2:37] And there's a possibility we'll still address that as we get further into the draft. [2:45] Everybody's tired. [2:46] I get it. [2:47] I'm tired, too. [2:50] Denzel's red zone ability. [2:52] How important was it to have two receivers that have, I guess, [2:55] complementary skill sets to do what you want to do? [2:58] Probably more important than usual just to the makeup of our receiver room [3:04] as it sits right now. [3:06] Would not have been as big a deal if you would have had some bigger body types. [3:12] But when you look at some of the body types we have when we take the field every day, [3:17] we certainly needed to certainly get bigger. [3:20] We certainly needed to add some size to that room. [3:24] And, you know, Denzel provided that for us. [3:28] You've got a question for Andrew about kind of unusual to trade out of the room. [3:32] It was a lot of fun. [3:36] I mean, it was a heck of a ride. [3:38] I was just in there for the ride. [3:40] So it was pretty cool. [3:44] You're talking about Barber? [3:49] Yeah. [3:49] No, I mean, we really liked him from the jump. [3:54] You don't know how the board, again, Andrew can answer this. [3:57] You don't know my limited experience of this. [4:01] You don't know how it's going to go. [4:03] There's certain players that are picked higher than you would have thought, [4:06] and there's others that are a little bit lower. [4:08] Certainly we knew we had to address the offensive line. [4:12] And so, you know, as he was still up on the board, I think the opportunity to move back, [4:20] and then as it continued, then let's not wait any longer. [4:24] Let's go up and get him. [4:26] And we're fired up to get him. [4:27] The competition now in the receiver room, what do you see? [4:34] Well, I just think you have to keep adding to the room as best you can. [4:39] You're trying to raise the floor. [4:41] I mean, ultimately, in any position group, you start by raising the floor and developing who you have. [4:48] And that started this past week. [4:50] So it just turned out, the way the draft unfolded, and Andrew, again, can speak to this, [4:57] that when we got to, you know, the spot that we had at seven would be actually 39, but today seven. [5:05] We did have opportunities, and Andrew would speak to it to move back, [5:08] but we really thought at that pick, take Denzel. [5:11] Do you now feel with the guys that you added, with the guys that you have with Gerald, [5:15] do you feel pretty good about the potential explosiveness? [5:22] I feel better. [5:22] You mentioned safety being something you guys were obviously looking at on the other side of things. [5:28] Just what strikes you and stands out about Emmanuel and Neil Warren, [5:32] and what do you like with what he brings to the table? [5:36] Length, speed, tough. [5:42] That's it. [5:43] I mean, he's got great length, excellent speed, and he'll hit that guy. [5:48] I mean, that's three pretty good characteristics of a safety. [5:51] Just yesterday, so as you got to say, were you kind of surprised at how the board felt today [5:56] in getting Denzel, who had a first round? [6:00] Surprised? [6:01] I would not say that. [6:03] I would not say that picks. [6:11] I would not say that I was surprised, especially on the offensive guys. [6:16] If you asked me where those picks went, I would have said pretty close to where we kind of had targeted, [6:25] where we thought they would be available. [6:28] Again, Andrew can speak to that. [6:29] I'm speaking for me, you know, in terms of where I would have thought, [6:33] because I did evaluate all those players, and I would have said that was about right, [6:37] and the board actually played out that way. [6:40] What's more fun is it doing this, if fun's the right word, [6:44] doing this as a head coach instead of offensive coordinator? [6:49] Well, I have one more level of input, I guess, [6:55] as opposed to a step down, you know, from the head coach end of the OC. [6:59] But ultimately, it's more fun, because, you know, when you're an offensive coordinator, [7:09] you're really not responsible for winning. [7:11] You're responsible for scoring. [7:12] And when you're the head coach, we're responsible for winning. [7:15] So I certainly want to score. [7:18] But more importantly, we've got to win football games. [7:20] And so when it came down to, you know, when you're talking about defensive players, [7:26] I'm all for great defensive players who are going to help us win. [7:29] Ultimately, that's our job as an organization, a head coach, [7:32] is to do everything in our power to put a roster together. [7:36] It gives us a chance to compete every week [7:37] and ultimately turn this organization into a consistent winning one. [7:43] You mentioned how your messaging about what type of players you want [7:46] is really direct to get the idea of what you're looking for. [7:50] Do you feel like you've been listened to as, [7:52] this is the type of player I want to do, I want to run my offense? [7:56] Not really. [7:58] I mean, it doesn't really work that way. [8:01] It really, there are pieces like that. [8:03] I take that back. [8:05] There are elements of what you may need from a position. [8:14] What type of tight end, for instance? [8:16] Do you want a fullback? [8:17] You're going to be an 11 personnel team. [8:19] So personnel-wise, much more than maybe the player, [8:24] because I don't think the parts that make a player, how they're wired, [8:30] their toughness, mental toughness, you know, their self-awareness, [8:35] do they love to practice, do they love football? [8:37] I think that's, from the jump, that's who you want to surround yourself with. [8:42] So, but maybe a little bit in terms of how you see usage of a player. [8:47] It does you no good to take a player without a plan for them. [8:50] And I think we all saw KC the same way, how we could utilize him. [8:55] I think we all saw the same way in terms of Denzel. [8:59] I think, you know, when you talk defensive line, [9:01] you're just trying to think can play tackle but also have position flex. [9:08] I think that's the best way to go about it. [9:10] Speaking of fullbacks. [9:11] Well, it's funny, the first time I saw him, I'm like, [9:22] you're the fullback here, right? [9:23] You know, and he looked at me like, you know, no, I'm a defensive tackle. [9:26] So that didn't go over great. [9:28] The first conversation I had with him, I'm joking, he was fine. [9:33] But ultimately, you know, he's going to want to play defensive first. [9:37] But he certainly showed some promise in the backfield and obviously toughness and the want to. [9:48] And you can see that on special teams. [9:50] He played on special teams. [9:51] You could see him on kickoff. [9:53] So I do think that is an option as we move forward. [9:56] But, again, I think depending on how much you're going to use that position, [10:01] which we'll, as we go along, we'll find out, [10:05] it's hard if you're going to be a 21 personnel team to have a part-time fullback. [10:10] So we're going to have to make that decision. [10:12] Is it situationally, is it situation only, you know, [10:17] or you're only talking about a little piece, maybe goal line short yardage, [10:20] or is it more than that as a normal rundown piece? [10:23] And if it is, then we're going to need more than a part-time fullback. [10:33] We didn't get to watch the mini camp. [10:38] So, I mean, can you kind of share how did Deshaun and Shadour and Dylan look? [10:45] We just couldn't get past the draft and get right on to back to the quarterback. [10:50] Anybody got some Miles questions, too, while we're at it? [10:52] I mean, hell, while we're just, you know, here at night. [10:56] First off, I'll address the question. [10:58] First of all, it was awesome. [11:01] Three days, the weather was unbelievable. [11:04] To get out on the grass and pump the music and get fired up being together. [11:10] And the neighbors complained. [11:12] And we didn't care. [11:13] And we pumped up the music louder. [11:15] If they don't like it, they can move. [11:17] And so I didn't care. [11:19] And it was like, you know, being out there with the guys [11:22] and just getting a little bit of a feel for who we have on our roster. [11:27] And I thought all three quarterbacks, at times, you could see, you know, [11:36] the positives in their game and learning the new system. [11:40] And they've been awesome in the meeting rooms and on the field. [11:45] And it was just kind of dipping our toe in the water. [11:49] But I thought, you know, Deshaun looked really good at times. [11:53] And there's other things you've got to work on. [11:55] Same with Shador and with Dylan. [11:57] So I really didn't do a deep dive into all of them. [12:02] But it was a heck of a lot of fun being out there, I can tell you that. [12:04] Well, I think we see players the same way in their value, how they're wired. [12:34] That part of it is for sure. [12:37] Other than that, I just have a small, like, picture of each player. [12:45] I certainly don't have the picture of every single player that they do, [12:51] that they've spent years, at least one year, and probably more than that on a player. [12:56] So what I do know is the players that I did look at, and I listen to the scouts, [13:02] and we all talk about how they're wired. [13:05] And do we want them representing the Cleveland Browns? [13:09] Is that who we want? [13:10] And we've got a great group. [13:12] We're just continually trying to raise the floor. [13:15] But I've been thoroughly impressed with the process of Andrew and his staff. [13:23] And I can see how the picks came to fruition last year with the talent that we have. [13:30] And I feel really good about what we're adding at this point. [13:34] Daniel, does Rudy want to play a bunch of three safety packages? [13:39] I'm not really going to get into what we're going to do, [13:41] considering we won't have film yet for our first game. [13:44] So we're just fired up to have him. [13:46] To go back to the receivers, I know when you first talked about your offense, [13:50] and this offense doesn't talk about scoring being the most paramount. [13:54] Do you feel good about the different ways those guys use them? [13:57] I do. [14:01] Again, like I said, I think they complement each other. [14:05] I think it started with we had to address the offensive line. [14:09] I mean, that's in both areas. [14:12] That's the receiver position and the offensive line. [14:15] And I really feel good about where we're at at this point. [14:18] Getting your evaluation, there are still plenty left on the board. [14:32] Andrew has talked about it's wholly realistic. [14:35] You guys could add another quarterback. [14:36] Would you be kind of excited to do that? [14:40] And do you see, are there some guys that you like from the quarterback position? [14:44] We'll see how it plays out. [14:46] I don't think there's any position that is off the board that we wouldn't take, [14:52] even after taking two receivers. [14:54] We might have taken a third. [14:56] We might take another offensive lineman. [14:59] Could be a quarterback. [15:00] I don't think there's any position when I left the draft room [15:06] that I didn't see anything that wouldn't interest us at any position. [15:13] All right. [15:15] Yep.