How can Shedeur Sanders build on his win over the Raiders in his 2nd start vs. the 49ers?: Hey, Mary Kay!

CLEVELAND, Ohio — In this edition of Hey, Mary Kay! I answer questions about Shedeur Sanders, defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, and more. Most of the questions came from our Browns Insider subscribers. To become one, click the blue banner at the top of the cleveland.com/browns page. Thanks so much for all of the great questions!

Hey, Mary Kay:

What adjustments might the Browns make to help Shedeur Sanders be more effective against the 49ers? — Tom Bayes, Charlotte, NC

Hey, Tom: There are a number of things the Browns can do to help Sanders build on his starting debut, the 24-10 victory over the Raiders. There are times when he can recognize a clean pocket more and not hastily escape. This would undoubtedly help his completion percentage, which was only 55% in Vegas. When Sanders was kept clean in that game, his rating was a stellar 137.7. The Browns can draw up even more opportunities for their tight ends to get involved, including David Njoku, who played only about half the snaps last week while coming off a knee injury. He creates such mismatches with his size, and there’s plenty more to be mined there.

Sanders attempted only two intermediate passes in the 10-19 yard range, with both falling incomplete. He can increase his production there significantly. A lot of it is just time on task. Sanders had only his second week of practice this week with starters such as Jerry Jeudy and Cedric Tillman, and the more he learns their tendencies, the better off he’ll be. As Joel Bitonio pointed out this week, a week of game installation is like several weeks of training camp because of all the rapid-fire reps for the starter. So he should be exponentially better with those guys this week. Of course, great field position and a robust running game will be two of his best friends.

Hey, Mary Kay:

Given the dominance of the defense, Is Jim Schwartz still defensive coordinator for the Browns next year or is a head coach somewhere else? — Matt, Royse City, TX

Hey, Matt: I absolutely think teams should interview Schwartz for their head coaching vacancies, but quite often, when a coach is out of the hiring cycle for a period of years, the ship sails on getting back in. That might be the case with Schwartz, even though he’s coaching one of the most dominant defenses in the NFL in recent years. I think he’d make an excellent head coach from both a technical standpoint and a CEO standpoint.

I think he’s grown and learned over the years how to get the best out of his players and motivate them. I think he’d be able to assemble an amazing staff from his many years in the business. But teams generally aren’t clamoring over 59-year-old defensive coordinators, so I’m guessing he’ll be back, which is great for the Browns. But it’s an oversight on the part of NFL teams.

Hey, Mary Kay:

Why is David Njoku not being utilized that much? I understand the rookie, Harold Fannin Jr., is coming along well, but Njoku is a force when he catches the ball and both of them out there together could be very dangerous for defenses and helpful to any QB. — Paxton Styles, Cheverly, Md.

Hey, Paxton: I couldn’t agree with you more. Fannin has been great, and his ability to break tackles and get yards after catch is a sight to behold. He’ll only get better and better, and the Browns have a future Pro Bowl tight end on their hands. But Njoku is still a matchup nightmare, and I’d be trying to get him more involved, especially in the red zone and end zone where he’s a load. He only played about half the snaps coming off a knee injury last week, but should be ready for more against the 49ers.

With key defenders such as Nick Bosa and Fred Warner out for the season, I’d be unleashing the Chief on this 49ers defense. I also think Njoku would benefit from losing about seven pounds. I know the Browns want him at his current 267-ish for blocking purposes, but I think he could add back a little speed without sacrificing power. I’d mix in an extra salad here and there and let it rip.

Hey, Mary Kay:

I’m struggling with all this “we need to draft a QB” talk. We did that in ‘99 and Tim Couch was killed. My theory is to rebuild the line next year and see which one of the kids can carry us and if we need a QB, we go get it in 27. We see what an aged line it is now. — @sambamdad on X

Hey, Sambamdad: In a perfect world, Shedeur Sanders will show the Browns over the next six weeks that they don’t need to draft a quarterback in the first round. If he shows good promise and builds on his encouraging starting debut in the victory over the Raiders, the Browns might not have to spend either of their two first round picks on a quarterback. I still think they should draft a first-round QB considering that six or seven starts is too small a sample size to know if Shedeur Sanders is their franchise QB.

But there’s a world in which he can convince the Browns that they can afford to use those picks on other premium positions such as offensive tackle, defensive end or receiver. It will be a focus these last six games to determine if Sanders can be their guy. And if he can, it will be an incredible rags-to-riches story to endure the biggest freefall in the history of the draft and go on to become the Browns’ starter.

Hey, Mary Kay:

Can Myles Garrett win NFL MVP if the Browns win three or four more games? — Sean N., Chicago, Ill.

Hey, Sean: I think it would be a longshot for Garrett to beat out Rams quarterback Matt Stafford, who’s won six straight games and is first in the NFL with a 113.7 rating. He’s also thrown 30 TDs against only two interceptions and is playing arguably the best ball of his career. It would be tough to give it to a player from a losing team, even though Garrett should certainly be in the conversation. He’s having an MVP season, and would’ve had a shot had the Browns made the playoffs this season.

Hey, Mary Kay:

Is Kevin Stefanski’s job safe with the Browns playing so hard, and having so many rookies playing this season? — Ben Jones, Macon, Ga.

Hey, Ben: I think Stefanski’s job should be safe considering that the Browns turned the season over to the rookie quarterbacks and it’s very difficult to win that way. Besides, the rookie class is so good that the future looks extremely bright for the Browns. But sometimes things take an unexpected turn in the offseason, and no one knows what Jimmy Haslam is thinking or what he might do.

I think Stefanski deserves a chance to show what he can do with a good starting quarterback, and the Browns should have that next season one way or the other. Stefanski as head coach and offensive coordinator Tommy Rees as play caller seems like a winning combination, and deserves a longer look.

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