The Cleveland Browns will have to make a decision with Shedeur Sanders. Sanders, who many considered the second-best quarterback coming out of the class, fell to the 144th pick.
After a shocking development during the draft, Sanders has to prove to the Browns and other teams that passed up on him that he’s good enough to be a competent quarterback in the NFL.
For some, that will be much easier said than done. For Dillon Gabriel, the Browns’ third-round pick, it might not be. Scot McCloughan believes Gabriel will be a second-stringer, which is great news for Sanders.
“I see him as a No. 2 for life. At best,” McCloughan said on “92.3 The Fan.” “And in the third round, that’s fine… I see him as a really good college quarterback. I see him as an average NFL quarterback.”
Kevin Stefanski on His New Quarterbacks
The Cleveland Browns know what they’ve got with Sanders. Despite some having him as high as the second overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft, Sanders still has plenty to work on.
That could’ve been part of the reason he fell as much as he did, but there seems to have been other factors involved.
Head coach Kevin Stefanski understands that Sanders isn’t a finished product, but he also noted that he’s willing to work. Being willing to work and come in every day to do his job, Sanders should have an opportunity to win a starting job if things go well.
“None of these guys are finished products, and Shedeur certainly has things he can work on,” Stefanski said on “We Need To Talk.” “But in terms of the person, in terms of the kid who’s willing to work, I think that’s who we’re getting.
“We’re getting a guy that really is not so concerned about where he landed in this draft, but he is willing to put in the work and that’s what we’re going to do.”
Win-Now or Prioritize the Future?
The Cleveland Browns also have to consider that if they want to win in the near future, it might require them to start Sanders. If they give Joe Flacco the keys to the city, even if they win seven or eight games next year, the future still remains bleak given how old Flacco is.
When speaking about the situation, Dan Orlovsky of ESPN said that they need to either go with Sanders or Gabriel.
“I would do everything I can to start either Shedeur Sanders or Dillon Gabriel this year. I would only start Joe Flacco or Kenny, and probably Joe, if, ‘Oh my gosh, this is a disaster.’ And if you’re Kevin Stefanski and Andrew Berry, their head coach and general manager, you go, ‘Hey, if one of these two kids starts, we’re going to get fired,’ if it’s that bad throughout the preseason,” Orlovsky said on the “Pat McAfee Show” Monday.
“There’s not a ton of benefit, for me, starting Joe Flacco, because it doesn’t answer anything with the potential of next year’s class and them figuring out long term at least what’s the situation. So, I would start one of those two rookies.”
There’s plenty to figure out in Cleveland, but the organization has to get this one right, as the Browns have gotten many wrong over the past few decades.
