Browns' & Vikings' QB Competitions, Jets & More | Overreaction Monday w/ Rich & Chris Brockman

Overreaction Monday in mid-May is a different animal than the in-season version. Real news is thin. Chris Brockman pushed Rich through eight takes and a Top 5. Rich pushed back on most of them.

The first take was the loudest. Chris wanted the Cleveland Browns to name Shedeur Sanders the Week 1 starter right now, no competition.

"I think Shedeur speaks for a lot of what Cleveland Browns fans think and feel about this team moving forward," Chris said. The argument was vibes-first. The fan base is exhausted on Deshaun Watson. Sanders has the pedigree and the building's emotional pull.

Rich pushed Chris into Jimmy Haslam's office.

"Congratulations, your name is Chris Haslam," Rich said. "If you have already poured all of these resources into Deshaun Watson, actual capital, actual blood, sweat, and tears, and you have one more year left just to see what's going down with him, you would go for Shedeur Sanders still?"

Chris stood by it. Rich called it an overreaction. Watson starts Week 1.

Then the Vikings. Chris called the Kyler Murray–JJ McCarthy competition the single most interesting storyline between now and Week 1. Rich agreed it was interesting and then offered a sleeper.

"Is Max Crosby not going anywhere?" Rich asked. If he is, fine. If at any point he becomes available, Crosby on a contender is the apple-to-apple comp for the Micah Parsons trade story that hung over last summer. Crosby gets to keep the QB battle in the top tier, but it isn't the only story to watch.

The Indianapolis Colts came next. Chris wanted Anthony Richardson to start until Daniel Jones is fully healthy. Rich said Richardson is, in his read, as good as gone, and that the Colts plan to start Jones in Week 1 regardless. Richardson has flashes. He also has an injury history and a front office that has visibly moved on.

The Chargers got Chris fired up. He wanted Justin Herbert to earn MVP votes and finish in the top three. Rich latched onto the phrasing — "earn" his MVP votes this year — as a backhanded shot at Herbert's previous vote. The exchange became less about Herbert and more about Rich's own MVP ballot. Chris insisted he was not implying Rich's vote in particular. Rich kept implying that Chris was. Both men got what they wanted out of the bit.

Breece Hall in the top three in rushing yards was the next swing. Hall had just landed a three-year extension after a season many called a disaster. Chris saw a contract-year-style breakout coming. Rich did the math on what third place actually was last year (Jonathan Taylor at 1,585) and noted Hall would need roughly 500 more yards. Hall played 16 games in 2025. The room is open, but the target is steep. Overreaction.

The Denver Broncos as the AFC's top seed for 2026 was the take Rich did not push back on. Bo Nix's ankle is the only thing that gives him pause. Jaylen Waddle adding a vertical piece to a team that nearly made the Super Bowl with a banged-up rookie quarterback feels like the move that unlocks them. The defense already plays at the top of the conference. Sean Payton said over the weekend that Nix should be full-go by training camp.

On the NFL Kickoff Game, Chris locked in Bears versus Seahawks as the opener, framing it as an NFC Championship Game preview. Rich agreed on the matchup. The Rams and 49ers open the season in Melbourne on a Wednesday. The Patriots play the Seahawks but the league is not going to lead with a Super Bowl preview. A Caleb Williams–Ben Johnson Bears team coming off last year's emotional run, hosting a Seattle team they nearly beat in overtime last winter, is the obvious pick. Rich called the NFC title preview framing an overreaction. The matchup itself, he agreed, is real.

The closer was Chris's Top 5 NFL Coaches on the Hot Seat.

5. Aaron Glenn (Jets). Rich agreed. The defense is Glenn's identity and was Woody Johnson's mandate. If it falters and the offense disappoints, an owner who has fired coaches faster than expected may not wait.

4. Todd Bowles (Buccaneers). Rich agreed. Tampa rumors and Bowles surviving them is now the annual pattern. Another sub-.500 season would push it past the rumor stage.

3. Dan Campbell (Lions). Rich did not love it but did not call it an overreaction. Year six, two-and-two in playoffs, with a division getting younger and harder.

2. Nick Sirianni (Eagles). Rich pushed back. The franchise won a Super Bowl with him recently. Another lackluster finish would heat the seat. He still has too much buffer for hot-seat conversation now.

1. Zac Taylor (Bengals). Chris's pick for the most-likely-to-go. Rich's read was structural. The Bengals do not pay people not to work for them. Taylor is signed through 2027. Mike Brown's wallet, Rich noted, is essentially the white smoke at the Vatican. They are not firing him.

He left open one wildcard. Mike Vrabel. Nobody actually knows what is happening there.