It’s all NFL draft history now, but former Colorado Buffaloes star Shedeur Sanders made a big statement in his preseason debut: he should’ve been selected in the first round.
Taken in the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft, the rookie quarterback watched team after team pass him by as he went from a projected top 10 pick to a mid-round selection battling for a roster spot. Now Sanders is out to show the NFL and one of the teams that passed on him that he is the future of the franchise.
What’s unique and fascinating about the story evolving around Sanders is that the team that passed him up in the first round is the same team that drafted him on Day 3 which could put the Cleveland Browns in a rewarding situation.
It’s only preseason, but Sanders put his clamp on the Browns’ quarterback battle with a promising debut that only supported what he has been doing in training camp.
The Shedeur Sanders NFL Draft experts once raved about
In a 30-10 victory over the Carolina Panthers, Sanders dazzled completing 14 of 23 passes for 138 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He also scrambled 19 yards showing off his mobility in the pocket.
This 12-yard touchdown throw to Kaden Davis was one of his more impressive highlights of the night:
zipped it right in there#CLEvsCAR on NFLN, @WEWS & NFL+ pic.twitter.com/wQo5ehWbV2
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) August 9, 2025
In showing off the arm strength, accuracy, composure and confidence that once celebrated him as a first-round talent, Sanders at the very least put himself in the conversation to win the starting role for the Browns. He’s competing with third-round rookie Dillon Gabriel, Kenny Pickett and Joe Flacco. With Gabriel and Pickett nursing injuries, Sanders is taking advantage of his opportunity.
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Was it the best performance, no, but given it was his first NFL action, the performance showed a lot about the player Sanders could be in the NFL. Battling nerve, the Browns’ rookie knows he can be even better.
"I'ma be honest, I wasn't nervous or have too much adrenaline, it was just getting comfortable," Sanders said after that game. "That's all it is. There's plenty games before where I was nervous, but I felt like I knew the answers to the test. So, when you feel unprepared, then you don't feel ready for the moment. I know I'm ready for the moment. Did I play up to par? No, I don't feel like I did. But overall, the main goal was to win and that's honestly what we did."
It's going to take winning the starting role for Sanders to prove was undervalued in the draft. It was a good start for a player who could change the future of an organization in search of a long-term franchise quarterback.
Can Shedeur Sanders prove he’s that guy? If he does, the Browns are in great position to build around him with two first round picks in the 2026 NFL Draft.