Why Are Opinions So Split on Shedeur Sanders?

The biggest reason why the Cleveland Browns haven’t already penciled in their decision with the No. 2 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft is that Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders hasn’t done enough to separate himself from the rest of the non-Cam Ward class.

That isn’t necessarily a criticism. His teammate, two-way star Travis Hunter, is justifiably regarded as “generational” by a portion of draft analysts. Penn State edge rusher Abdul Carter, as the best pass rusher in the class, has made a strong argument to go second overall, too.

If Sanders was a great prospect, this wouldn’t be a discussion. The positional value of a strong quarterback demands as much. Being merely a good prospect opens the door for a blue-chip non-quarterback to pass him for the right to play in Cleveland.

Even so, there isn’t much of a consensus on Sanders. Some do view him as a top-flight prospect because of his intangibles and dastardly accuracy. Others see a lack of elite athleticism and arm strength and knock him down to Day 2. Perhaps the answer is somewhere in the middle, but it isn’t immediately clear where Cleveland lies on that spectrum.

Former NFL quarterback Dan Orlovsky explained why the Browns draft target is the class’ hardest evaluation.

"He's the hardest quarterback I've had to evaluate since I've gotten into TV, because 75 percent of his snaps don't matter. That's the reality for anyone evaluating Shedeur Sanders," Orlovsky said. "Half of the snaps he had at Colorado were thrown inside of five yards. It feels like when you watch his tape, every ball is thrown at the line of scrimmage. You're not drafting him in the top five for that. So throw that out. Then the other 25 percent of his snaps the offensive line protection is so terrible that I don't care if you have Lamar Jackson or Patrick Mahomes, you're not doing anything with that."

With a smaller sample of study-worthy plays to draw from, level of competition concerns from earlier in his career, and an untenable offensive line at Colorado, Sanders is a more difficult evaluation than say, Ward or some other prospects in recent memory.

Part of Sanders’ projection is one’s faith in those aforementioned intangibles. With plenty of play under pressure and an ability to avoid turnovers, Sanders largely checks the box between the ears, with his processing, decision-making, and poise largely being seen as good to elite. But without premier physical tools, his “invisible” traits must compensate, and any overestimation in that part of the evaluation might lead to overshooting his upside.

Sanders has also been criticized for his personality. His confidence has been picked apart and called arrogant and brash. His leadership has been put under the microscope, and being the son of Deion Sanders might not do his reputation any favors. Largely, that isn’t fair to Sanders.

"We can't praise Baker Mayfield and fall in love with Baker Mayfield because of his charisma, cockiness, his self-belief and then kind of view it differently with Shedeur," Orlovsky said.

Opinions are going to vary on Sanders, likely more than most of his peers in the 2025 class. That doesn’t have to dampen the optimism that would come with a hypothetical selection, but it does set Cleveland up for a perpetual presence in the national quarterbacking discourse in the near future.