As the Cleveland Browns prepare for a difficult schedule, the biggest storyline of 2025 will be the quarterback competition. A former GM weighed in on one of the rookies that Cleveland drafted at the position with a bold prediction.
Scot McCloughan, the former general manager of Washington and San Francisco, appeared on The Pacman Jones Show and was asked about his evaluation of Shedeur Sanders.
McCloughan said he gave Sanders a first-round grade and followed it up with an emphatic endorsement by saying:
I think he’ll be the best quarterback out of this draft. When it’s all said and done, when his career is said and done, he’ll be the best QB out of this draft.
Former NFL GM Scot McCloughan
McCloughan is a well-respected evaluator with over two decades of experience in scouting and personnel management. If the name sounds familiar to you, it should.
He was hired by the Browns as a consultant and worked very closely with former GM John Dorsey on the 2018 draft class. He was instrumental in leading the team to select Baker Mayfield with the first overall pick in that draft.
McCloughan compared the former Browns’ QB to Brett Favre at the time, and when Mayfield flamed out in Cleveland, he was on record stating that other teams should pursue him while accurately predicting that he would revive his career. During an interview in 2022 with Tyler Dunne for his Substack, titled Go Long, the former GM said:
“He ain’t gonna back down. He ain’t gonna quit. He ain’t gonna shy away. All of these naysayers now? Wait and see them in two or three years if he can stay healthy. They’ll all be back on the bandwagon — ‘Oh, what a great story. Comeback Player of the Year.’ All that s**t. Where were you two or three years ago when you questioned if he’d be the starter in 2022? Of course, he’s the starter. Who else are you going to get that’s better? It’s ridiculous.”
These comments were made when Mayfield was still a member of the Browns and before Cleveland pursued Deshaun Watson. Ultimately, he was correct with Mayfield throwing 40 touchdown passes three years later in Tampa Bay.
McCloughan also played a pivotal role in the Seattle Seahawks front office that selected Russell Wilson in the 2012 draft. He believes Sanders is experiencing the same kind of criticism that Wilson did post draft, as both were questioned despite their elite production in college.
McCloughan spoke about witnessing Sanders up close on the Colorado sideline and recalled an interaction between Sanders and Travis Hunter that demonstrated his leadership. The quarterback had thrown an errant pass intended for Hunter, and the frustrated receiver threw his hands in the air after to demonstrate his disappointment.
According to McCloughan, Sanders didn’t let it slide and got in the star receiver’s face and told him to never do that again. Sanders yelled, “If I miss a throw, then I miss a throw.”
He also mentioned the way that Sanders would “run the show” by taking command between series by gathering the offensive line and skill players. “Shedeur has enough toughness and competiveness to earn his teammates’ respect,” he said.
McCloughan works independently today, with no affiliation to a team or media — he’s a football lifer, and his personal struggles have been well documented. Despite those, when he gives a glowing assessment of Sanders, it’s worth paying attention to.
