The Browns might have stumbled into their quarterback of the future
The Cleveland Browns managed to make some news despite the halls of Berea being mostly empty yesterday. First, the team announced the release of a veteran defensive end, and then followed that up by releasing the details of training camp.
But quietly, all eyes should start to shift toward Shedeur Sanders—a late-round pick who wasn’t supposed to be in this position, but just might give Browns fans something unexpected: hope.
There is anticipation both locally and nationally for the upcoming quarterback competition. Most seem to expect that Joe Flacco will win out and be named the starter eventually.
There’s also a camp that hopes to see one of the rookies win the job outright. That would be a dream outcome for the Browns, at least giving them optimism that he could be the quarterback of the future.
It’s funny that if I had told you in mid-April that Cleveland drafted Sanders, you’d think that a major investment must have been made, and he would be given multiple years to develop.
You’d have assumed that drafting a quarterback in the 2026 draft was certainly out of the question. At the time, there were still people arguing for Sanders to be drafted at number two overall. At a minimum, it was expected that to acquire Sanders, a team would at least need to trade back into the first round to grab him.
Ultimately, Sanders was drafted more than 100 picks later than most expected. Complicating the situation further in Cleveland is the fact that the Browns also drafted Dillon Gabriel fifty picks ahead of Sanders.
When the Browns traded down with Jacksonville to acquire the Jaguars’ first-round pick in 2026, it was a tell that they had decided to push for their QB the following year.
Does that mean that Andrew Berry and Kevin Stefanski were comfortable with the veteran duo of Kenny Pickett and Flacco?
Maybe so. It’s also clear that the expectations have dwindled for most of the fan base for Sanders. While no clear reason has been given for his fall, there have been plenty of rumors and theories offered to explain why.
Most of which have little to do with the talent that many scouts, including myself, saw on tape. Is he a perfect prospect? By no means. However, he is a very gifted thrower of the football, and he just may have some of the intangibles that special QBs seem to possess. (A couple of regular Joes come to mind.)
Am I saying he is Montana or Burrow? No, I’d hope to never be so foolish before seeing him take a snap in the NFL. What I am saying is that it’s okay to be as excited about him now as you might have been when the Browns were on the clock at pick 33.
No games have been played, no interceptions thrown, but there have been reports from inside the building that he’s working hard and evidence on the field that he has impressed.
Pump the brakes on my hope all you want, but for me, the optimism is full speed ahead. And yes, that was intentional for all of you who have said that you’re out on him after the speeding tickets.
Everything would have gone opposite to the Browns’ plan A for Sanders to end up being the long-term answer, but perhaps that’s exactly what needed to happen for the franchise to get it right finally.
What do you think? Have fans tempered their expectations too much because of his slide in the draft? If Sanders ends up being a success, will the Browns deserve the credit for drafting him? Let us know in the comments below.