Notes: OL coach George Warhop loves Spencer Fano, wants him to be less critical of himself

BEREA — Footwork, hand placement … being nicer to himself.Left tackle Spencer Fano has a lot to work on as a rookie."No. 1, he's a great kid. Unbelievable human being, wants to be the best version of himself all the time and that's a blessing and a curse for him because he'll get down on himself a little bit at times on that," offensive line coach George Warhop said Thursday at the end of minicamp. "So that's something we're working through with him."Listen, it's going to come. It's new. You're playing on the left side, which is new. You're playing in the NFL, which is going to be another level up. The last week, he's been outstanding, really competing, really buying into what we're doing, really raising his game. So I love the kid. I think he's going to be a really good player for us."Todd Monken says he's convinced Shedeur Sanders, Deshaun Watson can play 'winning football,' will continue competition in training camp and in padsThe Browns drafted Fano out of Utah with the No. 9 pick. He's expected to be the Week 1 starter and will prepare by facing new defensive end Jared Verse, who was acquired from the Rams in the Myles Garrett trade."Any time you get a chance to go against a really good player, it advances your game," Warhop said. "It makes you a better player. So every snap he gets against him, every snap any of our guys gets against him is going to be a benefit for us."And his game is such a physical game, it's unlike a lot of defensive ends in the NFL. It will really help us moving forward dealing with other teams, Baltimore, Cincinnati, who also have bigger, physical defensive ends."Notes: Isaiah Bond adds 15 pounds of 'straight muscle' in offseason to diversify his gameFano was back with the first-team offense after spending most of Wednesday with the second team. Dawand Jones took his place with the starters.And while it will be difficult for Jones to earn a starting spot and he's expected to compete for the swing tackle job — Fano was drafted early and right tackle Tytus Howard was acquired in a trade and given a two-year, $45 million extension — Warhop isn't counting him out."I'm not putting swing tackle on Dawand," Warhop said. "Dawand's going to come in and compete. We're not conceding anything. And he's not conceding."He's had a really good spring. I think training camp's going to be even better for him. I really enjoy coaching him. I think he can be a really good player in this league. So swing tackle, I don't know. I'm going to see if he can start for us in some capacity before I say he's a swing tackle."Shedeur Sanders focused on personal development and building strong team rather than tight QB competitionWarhop explained why he likes coaching Jones, a fourth-round pick in 2023 who's ended all three seasons on injured reserve."He's genuinely himself," Warhop said. "Anybody that can be themselves all the time, I appreciate. He doesn't have any pretenses. You can be frank with him and it's not an issue. He listens. He tries to do what you ask, and as a coach, that's all you want.""He's been great. Looks really good running around," coach Todd Monken said. "Obviously has grasped what we're trying to do. So it's been fun having him out there working."HAPPY CAMPERMonken was delighted with his first offseason program as an NFL head coach. It started April 7."Whole offseason was outstanding because really, for the most part, our team was here for the other nine weeks," he said. "Guys did a great job. It's been a really productive offseason."He learned something important about the players."They like practicing. They like football. Makes it fun," he said. "I didn't have to play that last song. I really didn't. Just gave me three more minutes with them. It's been a cool 10 weeks."INJURY REPORTReceiver Jerry Jeudy didn't practice."His hamstring grabbed him a little bit and he didn't want to go into the offseason with a hamstring injury," Monken said.** Defensive tackle Mason Graham wasn't on the field, receiving treatment inside. He watched practice Tuesday and Wednesday, and his foot was in a walking boot Tuesday.** Safety Grant Delpit didn't attend the majority of the voluntary offseason program and was sidelined this week with an undisclosed injury."His communication in the offseason's been phenomenal," pass game coordinator Ephraim Banda said. "His time in the building has been great, working hard, being present, doing a great job in meetings, being a veteran leader."** Again not practicing were cornerback Denzel Ward, safeties Emmanuel McNeil-Warren and Daniel Thomas, defensive end Julian Okwara (left hand), tight ends Harold Fannin Jr. and Carsen Ryan, cornerback Dom Jones and defensive tackles Maliek Collins and Kalia Davis.** Monken said he won't have "veteran days off" during training camp."We might monitor the reps, but they're going to be dressed," he said. "That's what you do as a team. Everybody's dressed."DONE DEALSafety Ronnie Hickman signed his tender as a restricted free agent. The Browns used the right-of-first-refusal tender in March, giving them the chance to match any offer sheet Hickman signed with another team without receiving draft-pick compensation if he left.He'll make $3.52 million on the one-year contract. He'd been practicing with the team.Hickman, who was undrafted out of Ohio State in 2023, started all 17 games last season and set career highs in tackles (100), interceptions (two) and passes defensed (seven). He has appeared in 41 games with 26 starts."I'm just extremely excited for him to sign that deal," Banda said. "That's why you do this as a coach. You do that to see the growth and development of a player like that."Banda said the next step is for Hickman to play more in the box and not just as a free safety.FROM AFARGarrett, who was traded to the Rams last week, posted a message on social media after left guard Joel Bitonio announced his retirement Tuesday. They were teammates for nine years and captains together many times."Congrats on a Hall of Fame career!!" Garrett wrote with a picture of the two of them on the field. "Blessed to be your teammate and your friend."The post Notes: OL coach George Warhop loves Spencer Fano, wants him to be less critical of himself first appeared on BrownsZone with Scott Petrak.