The skepticism surrounding Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders runs deeper than his uneven rookie season.
Mike Sando of The Athletic believes Sanders’ standing across the NFL has been damaged by questions about both his play and how he conducts himself. Sando offered that assessment during an appearance on the “Ultimate Cleveland Sports Show” after Sanders finished No. 35 — dead last — in his annual quarterback tiers survey.
Sando’s annual rankings are based on ballots from 50 NFL coaches and executives. Sanders finished No. 35, last among the quarterbacks evaluated.
“After seeing him last season — and not just as a player, but just seeing how he handles things — I think the league is turned off,” Sando said. “Maybe unfairly so. Maybe even more so than the on-field product suggests, just because of the way he goes about his business. I think it’s not exactly what NFL teams are looking for.”
Shedeur Sanders Lands at Bottom of QB Rankings
GettyCleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders does his patented celebration.
Sanders received one Tier 3 vote, 37 Tier 4 votes and 12 Tier 5 votes. Sando said Tier 5 is not even formally included in the final rankings because no quarterback received enough votes to qualify. In Sanders’ case, however, nearly a quarter of the voters put him there anyway.
“He’s inaccurate at all three levels. I can’t tell if he’s going to get better, but there’s a huge gap between him and competent QB play,” one executive said.
Sanders completed 56.6% of his passes for approximately 1,400 yards, seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions during his rookie season. Cleveland went 3-4 in his seven starts. The reality is Sanders remains an unknown. Seven starts behind a struggling offense are not enough to establish his ceiling.
Sando acknowledged that the survey was conducted before training camp. Much of the information he gathered came from conversations after the draft and before Sanders had an opportunity to show his progress under new Browns head coach Todd Monken.
Shedeur Sanders’ Name Cuts Both Ways
Sanders entered the NFL with a profile few prospects could match. He was a productive college quarterback, played for his father and Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders at Colorado, and became one of the most recognizable players in the draft.
“He has a pedigree that the others don’t have,” Sando said. “Things have come easier to him than others because of who he is. What happened in the draft is probably more reflective of what his talent is than his name.
“If he was Shedeur Sando, it wouldn’t have the same resonance as Shedeur Sanders. He’s one of those guys who is propped up by who he is in our consciousness rather than the traits and how you see him as a player.”
Sanders was widely expected to be selected early but fell to the fifth round, where the Browns took him with the No. 144 overall pick.
“People in the league thought he was going to be drafted much higher,” Sando said. “Yet those people were not necessarily saying they agreed that he should be drafted earlier. A lot of them were saying, ‘I wouldn’t pick him in the top 10.’ I think there was an expectation he’d be drafted higher than he was.”
Browns QB Deshaun Watson Also in Basement of Rankings
GettyCleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson.
Sanders is competing with Deshaun Watson for Cleveland’s starting job. Watson did not fare much better in Sando’s rankings. The veteran finished No. 31 overall and landed in Tier 4 after missing all of last season while recovering from multiple Achilles surgeries.
His placement also reflects how dramatically his standing around the league has fallen since his Pro Bowl years with the Houston Texans. Watson has appeared in just 19 games since arriving in Cleveland in 2022 and has yet to resemble the quarterback the Browns expected when they acquired him.
Sanders, Watson and the Browns open the preseason against the Chicago Bears on August 15 before facing the Buffalo Bills and New England Patriots.
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