The Cleveland Browns took a chance on Shedeur Sanders when no one else would.
His camp and some experts had him as a top-five selection in the 2025 NFL Draft, and they missed the mark by almost 140 picks.
The fact of the matter is that Sanders was a flawed prospect with unimpressive game traits, and that drove teams away.
Now, Sanders has turned plenty of heads and drawn positive reviews for his impressive work ethic and how sharp he’s looked in offseason drills.
But, as Jimmy Watkins of Cleveland.com points out, the Browns still don’t know whether he’s truly improved in a vital area.
“Ahead of Cleveland’s training camp kickoff, it feels prescient to remind people: Sanders’ biggest flaw has not yet been tested. For Cleveland’s purposes, the biggest Sanders question is how he handles pressure. Tangible, 6-foot-5, 275-pound pressure. And we won’t have an answer until tackling is allowed. Sanders threw most passes quickly, meaning when he did hold the ball, he must’ve really held it. The pre-draft scouting reports certainly noticed this issue. Sanders must improve his pocket management,” Watkins wrote.
Sanders tends to pat the football, and while some don’t want to read too much into that, that fraction of a second could be the difference between a completion and a sack.
He didn’t play behind solid offensive lines while he was in college, but he also didn’t make the best decisions when the pocket collapsed.
He’s a hard worker who might now be more aware of his shortcomings than he was when he thought he would be a can’t-miss first-rounder.
But he’s got a long way to go before taking the field in the NFL.
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Insider Shuts Down Concerns About Browns’ RB Room