By trading up in the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft to select Colorado's Shedeur Sanders at pick No. 144, the Cleveland Browns unofficially sparked a four-way competition for their starting quarterback job.
For an article published on Thursday, Daniel Oyefusi of ESPN touched upon why Sanders is an underdog to enter September as Cleveland's QB1 over 2025 third-round pick Dillon Gabriel, 2022 first-round choice Kenny Pickett and veteran Joe Flacco.
"Sanders is attempting a feat only Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott has accomplished in the past 15 years -- parlaying a Day 3 draft slot into becoming a franchise's Week 1 starter as a rookie," Oyefusi wrote. "He's also trying to do something only four other men have since 1967: doing it as a fifth-round or later selection. ...According to Elias Sports Bureau, only four quarterbacks in the common draft era (dating back to 1967) selected in the fifth round or later have started in his team's season opener as rookies."
As of Thursday morning, FanDuel Sportsbook listed Flacco as the betting favorite at +116 odds to be Cleveland's Week 1 starter. That's understandable considering he's the only player of the four who has had success playing under head coach Kevin Stefanski.
Specifically, Flacco went 4-1 as a starter to guide the 2023 Browns to the playoffs. More recently, however, the 40-year-old played poorly in back-to-back November losses with the Indianapolis Colts before he was benched. He only re-entered the Indianapolis lineup later in the season after Anthony Richardson went down with an injury.
Meanwhile, Pickett spent the bulk of last season as a backup with the Philadelphia Eagles after the Pittsburgh Steelers gave up on him following his second pro campaign. As for Gabriel, numerous members of the NFL community feel the Browns overdrafted a quarterback who was projected as a third-day pick.
Of course, Sanders is no typical fifth-round flier. It was thought as recently as the middle of April that he would be a first-round selection, but reports have since detailed how his alleged handling of the predraft process turned teams off.
"Just as rare is the number of passers drafted after the third round who go on to become productive starters for multiple seasons," Oyefusi continued. "According to ESPN Research, nine such quarterbacks have made multiple Pro Bowls -- a list that includes seven-time Super Bowl winner Tom Brady. The most recent was Prescott."
ESPN and other outlets have mentioned how Brady has been a mentor to Sanders. It's still not entirely clear why the minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders didn't push his club to take Sanders in the fourth round, but Brady did send the polarizing prospect support via a text message during Sanders' draft slide.
Long before Brady became the GOAT, the New England Patriots made him the 199th overall pick of the 2000 draft. Sanders will look to follow in Brady's footsteps, but the 23-year-old will first need to show he deserves a spot on Cleveland's active roster.
