​Last year’s training camp for the Cleveland Browns became national news every day. It wasn’t about the latest Super Bowl contender or which tight end was dating a pop star. It centered on something more unusual for the spotlight: the Browns’ decision to draft Shedeur Sanders, who had unexpectedly fallen to the fifth round of the annual college draft. Early in the pre-draft process, Sanders was projected as a potential top-two pick. On a sports podcast, his father, Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, predicted his son would be drafted no later than fourth overall.
As the draft day slid away and Sanders tumbled to Round 5, curiosity swirled about the reasons for the fall and how he would perform in real NFL practices. Was it sabotage or simply the truth of the evaluation? To complicate matters, the Browns had already taken another quarterback, Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel, who had been personally selected by then-NFL head coach Kevin Stefanski. By season’s end, both rookie signal-callers had a handful of starts, yet neither earned a berth on the NFL All-Rookie Team.
Now we’re in Year 2 for Sanders, and the same can be said for Gabriel, who remains on the roster. But with veteran Deshaun Watson arriving to contend for Cleveland’s starting job, a fresh dynamic emerged. Browns head coach Todd Monken has not publicly named a starter yet, meaning the quarterback job is technically open even though the official application process has closed. Also in the quarterback room is rookie Taylen Green from Arkansas. That’s four quarterbacks: two with NFL experience, one with multiple Pro Bowl honors and a spot on the NFL All-Rookie Team, and a newcomer looking to make his mark. Yes, say his name.
Cleveland remains a focal point for football media scrutiny. Watson’s return brings back memories of the monumental trade that sent him from Houston to Cleveland, a deal that cost the Browns a substantial haul of first- and second-round picks (along with other rounds) and, in the Texans’ wake, helped spark a remarkable turnaround for Houston in recent seasons. For many fans and observers, the question is how this will unfold with Watson back in the fold.
Meanwhile, in the wake of the Watson trade, the Browns’ roster intake slowed, and without a steady stream of first- through third-round additions, sustaining elite competitiveness becomes more challenging. The question lingers: can Watson reclaim the starting quarterback job, and how will the team balance a room full of quarterbacks while pursuing consistency and growth?
There are two camps of Shedeur Sanders supporters. One group believes in his pedigree and potential, noting that he hailed from a program run by his father, which went 4-8-0 and 9-4-0 during his tenure as starter, never captured a conference title, never won a bowl game, and didn’t produce an All-American, with the lone notable accolade being Travis Hunter’s Heisman vote. In that ranking, Sanders received a single first-place vote, seven second-place votes, and thirty third-place votes, finishing eighth in a field of ten. By contrast, Gabriel landed in third. This faction argues that Sanders’ perceived shortcomings—whether in the eyes of some evaluators or in the SEO metrics of the modern draft landscape—should not dim his talent or potential. They insist that evaluating him through a broader lens, including tape, locker-room leadership, and upside, is essential, even if his circumstances and exposure differ from those of other prospects.