Shedeur Sanders has gotten some 11-on-11 reps in Browns closed OTAs and will get some Wednesday when it’s open

Cleveland Browns cornerback Greg Newsome and tackle Jack Conklin chat during the 25th annual Cleveland Browns Foundation Golf Tournament at Westwood Country Club in Rocky River.

ROCKY RIVER, Ohio — A lot was made of Browns rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders not getting any 11-on-11 reps when organized team activities were open to the media last week, but coach Kevin Stefanski revealed he did get some during the two closed sessions.

Furthermore, he’ll participate in the coveted team drills this week when the four-way quarterback competition is on display again to the media on Wednesday.

“Yes, and I would say there’s a lot of work that gets done when you guys aren’t out there, believe it or not,” Stefanski said Monday at the Browns Foundation 25th annual golf tournament at Westwood Country Club.

“But that’s even in a meeting or in a walkthrough. Our guys are getting exposed to a lot.”

Sanders, who served as the fourth-team quarterback during the first week of OTAs behind Kenny Pickett, Joe Flacco and third-round pick Dillon Gabriel, was portrayed in a widely circulating graphic by ESPN Cleveland as posting better numbers than the other three.

But the stats weren’t an apples-to-apples comparison.

Sanders numbers were based on his 7-on-7s with an against backups, while the other three participated in 11-on-11s. Gabriel only took three such team snaps, but the graphic went viral on social media, with Sanders being widely referenced as the leader in the clubhouse based on the results.

Way too early for that, Stefanski said. After this week’s OTAs, the Browns will conduct a mandatory full squad minicamp June 10-12, and by the time it’s over, the Browns should have a better handle on their QB depth chart.

“I know in our day and age, one clip or one day or one practice can be all that gets out there to the public,” Stefanski said.

“I would tell you the guys are working extremely hard. They’re doing everything that we’re asking of them and we’re very excited about all of our guys. I know a lot of attention goes to that quarterback room. I get it, that’s the most important position in football. But I’m really proud of all the guys for how hard they’re working really throughout this offseason.”

He reiterated that the four quarterbacks are taking turns in the rotation and that not too much should be read into it at this point.

“Honestly, every day is different,” Stefanski said. “Every day we’re mixing and matching, if you will, giving guys different looks. I’ve told you before, it’s not going to be a 25% down the middle type thing, or I guess down to fourths, but we’re trying to expose the guys to different things.”

Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski welcomes guests to the 25th annual Cleveland Browns Foundation Golf Tournament at Westwood Country Club in Rocky River.

He noted that Sanders and Gabriel are learning a lot from the veterans as well as demonstrating strong work ethic.

“Those guys are doing great,” he said. “They’re both wired to get in early, stay late, put in whatever work is required. They’re sponges in the meeting room, which I think is really fun for me in my vantage point. I get to sit there and watch the two young guys look over and there’s Joe, 40 years old, won a Super Bowl. There’s Kenny, just going into year four, but first round draft pick that’s been on a couple teams, won a Super Bowl last year.

“There’s Deshaun (Watson), had a ton of success in his career. They can kind of feed off of all those guys. So that’s the thing, it’s fun for me to watch them get better sometimes just by listening.”

Cleveland Browns guard Joel Bitonio tees off during the 25th annual Cleveland Browns Foundation Golf Tournament at Westwood Country Club in Rocky River.

Despite only three OTAs so far, Stefanski says he’s already learned a lot about his four QBs.

“The big thing is, this is an all-encompassing evaluation,” he said. “We were evaluating the guys during Phase I, during Phase II and now, finally, Phase III. You get to go against your defense in some settings where our quarterbacks and our offense get to go against them in 7-on-7 and some team drills. So all of that adds up to reps for us to look at and it’s not just looking at the result of a play. We’re looking really at everything with these guys.”

By the same token, the Browns are evaluating the QBs differently than most observers at practice.

“We try not to look too much into the result, just black and white, if that makes sense,” he said. “Because there’s things that our defense isn’t doing and things that our offense isn’t doing to gain advantages, if that makes sense. So really it becomes, ‘are you doing what we’re asking you to do? Are you using the proper technique? Are your decisions sound,’ and then the accuracy of which you throw it.

“So I’d say all of that adds up to really good work for our guys and this is definitely part of learning how to get ready to play a game too, because as much as we’re just working drills, ultimately you’re also getting ready for September as well.”

Despite the absence — or at least partial absence of some key players at the voluntary OTAS such as Myles Garrett, Diontae Johnson and David Njoku — Stefanski sees tremendous value in the offseason program.

“You’re really building a foundation, a foundational understanding of scheme,” he said. “You’re building a foundation of the culture, just being around your teammates. So that’s really what we’re doing right now. When we get to training camp, we’ll build on top of that foundation.

“But so much of what we’re doing right now is just making sure that the guys understand who we are, what it means when we say Cleveland Browns; what it means when we say offense, defense, special teams; how we play, because we’re different than the other teams in our division, just like they’re different than us. We want to make sure that we have an identity that’s unique to us. So a lot of that is building that foundation now so that when you get to training camp, you can build upon that.”

Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski tees off during the 25th annual Cleveland Browns Foundation Golf Tournament at Westwood Country Club in Rocky River.

The Browns quarterback competition has certainly played out on the national stage, with Sanders getting most of the attention by far. But the Browns, particularly the QBs, are blocking most of it out.

Cleveland Browns linebacker Nathaniel Watson smiles after a tee shot during the 25th annual Cleveland Browns Foundation Golf Tournament at Westwood Country Club in Rocky River.

“External noise is nothing new in pro sports, and whatever the noise may be, that’s kind of our job,” Stefanski said. “That’s the fun part for me, is I get to go into work and pull in and close the door and get to work and not focus very much on that. We understand that that exists. We understand that there’s a great interest in our sport. That’s what keeps us going is our fans’ level of interest in our sport. So I completely get that part, but it doesn’t factor into our day-to-day. We have a lot of work to do and don’t really pay much attention to what’s going on outside.”

Cleveland Browns kicker Dustin Hopkins celebrates after putting for Birdie during the 25th annual Cleveland Browns Foundation Golf Tournament at Westwood Country Club in Rocky River.

It certainly won’t stop the chatter until their QB1 is named, and then a new round will begin.

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Cleveland Browns OT Cornelius Lucas tees off during the 25th annual Cleveland Browns Foundation Golf Tournament at Westwood Country Club in Rocky River.

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Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders throws a pass during individual drills at OTAs Wednesday in Berea.

Cleveland Browns guard Joel Bitonio speaks to the media during the Cleveland Browns Foundation Golf Tournament at Westwood Country Club in Rocky River.

Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski tees off during the 25th annual Cleveland Browns Foundation Golf Tournament at Westwood Country Club in Rocky River.