Shedeur Sanders endured the most shocking fall in NFL Draft history when he slipped to the Cleveland Browns at 144th overall. The Colorado alum was once in contention to go No. 1 overall, but following the draft, the fifth-round pick was the QB4 on the Browns depth chart.
However, he has steadily risen through the ranks during the OTAs and the minicamp and is now in conversation to be the Browns’ Week 1 starter.
NFL Analyst Reveals Shedeur Sanders’ Chances of Starting in Week 1 For the Cleveland Browns
After Deshaun Watson was ruled out for the entire 2025 season, the Browns pivoted by signing 40-year-old veteran Joe Flacco in free agency and trading for fourth-year quarterback Kenny Pickett. However, their acquisition of quarterbacks wasn’t over.
During the 2025 NFL Draft, they drafted Dillon Gabriel with the 94th overall pick before stopping Sanders’ slide at 144. As a result, the quarterback room for Cleveland became an interesting place to monitor.
Through rookie training camp, OTAs, and mandatory minicamp, all four quarterbacks have gotten a lot of reps on the field. However, Sanders got the least and still appeared to outperform the rest. Now, NFL analyst Daniel Jeremiah believes either Sanders or Gabriel will start for the Browns in Week 1.
“Talent-wise, I think both those guys have a huge advantage over Kenny Pickett,” Jeremiah said. “Kenny Pickett has to be light-years better than each of them to make the team. To me, I think Joe Flacco is just in case they don’t feel like they can be competent at the position, then you insert Joe. I think their Week 1 starter is going to be one of those two rookies. I really feel that way.”
“I think their week 1 starter is going to be one of those two rookies,” – @MoveTheSticks on the Browns QB battle 👀👀👀 pic.twitter.com/DQkGPobvux
— ESPN Cleveland (@ESPNCleveland) June 20, 2025
Jeremiah urged the Browns to follow the same path and conclude by the end of the year whether they have a franchise quarterback on the roster or need to draft a new one. The Browns are unlikely to reach the playoffs with Flacco, and with an additional first-round pick in 2026, they need to give the rookies every chance to prove themselves.
“I think you have to learn this year,” Jeremiah said. “They made that trade (No. 2 pick to Jaguars), so they’ve got some ammunition for next year. Next year at this time, they have to know what they have in those two rookies. They have to see them, and that’s why, to me, I don’t think you waste time… You have to evaluate these two kids that you just drafted, so before this next draft, you have some clarity of what you have on campus.”
Between the two, Sanders appears to be the frontrunner for the job. Gabriel struggled during Cleveland’s offseason program, completing just 57.8% of his passes during the sessions that were open to the media. Sanders, meanwhile, completed 77.4% of his passes (the best of the four quarterbacks) and threw nine touchdowns to just one interception.
