Cleveland Browns' Shedeur Sanders, Kenny Pickett Odds To Win Starting Job

The ESPN Cleveland radio show broke down their odds for which quarterback will be named the starter, with Pickett being the favorite. The result?

Kenny Pickett with 3-1 odds

Joe Flacco with 5-1 odds

Dillon Gabriel with 10-1 odds

Shedeur Sanders with 50-1 odds

"I think Kenny Pickett starts week one right now. I do. I do," said reporter Tony Rizzo on the show.

The former Colorado Buffaloes star Sanders was picked as a long shot to earn the starting role but he has a chance to impress at NFL training camp in July.

Sanders was once projected as a first-round draft pick but fell to the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft. Since arriving in Cleveland, Sanders has won his teammates over with his team-first mentality and handled a wild amount of media coverage with grace.

Of course, the Sanders family is used to attention as they took the college football world by storm when Deion was hired as head coach of Colorado. The Buffaloes were a one-win team the year before the Sanders arrived but improved to a 4-8 record in 2023 and then a 9-4 record in 2024.

... News to the ears of Browns fans who would like to see a similar turn around for a franchise that won three games in 2024-25.

Sanders put up impressive numbers during five open practices this offseason, Shedeur went 41-for-53 (77.4 percent) with nine touchdowns and one interception per ESPN Cleveland.

Browns coach Kevin Stefanski addressed why Sanders was the only quarterback to not receive first team reps throughout organized team activities and minicamp.

"Like I've told you guys, let's not look too much into who's out there when. We're in installation phase, we're in teaching phase, so not much to look into," Stefanski said after minicamp practice on June 12.

While there might not be much takeaway in terms of depth chart from minicamp and OTAs... training camp is a whole other story.

NFL training camp is rapidly approaching, which will be paramount for Sanders to climb the depth chart. Rookies report to Browns training camp on July 18 and veterans report on July 22. Cleveland's first practice available to fans begins on Friday, July 25.

As Cleveland sorts through the depth chart of a crowded quarterbacks room, both rookies have a shot to win the starting job and potential be the Browns' long term answer at quarterback. However, from the perspective from ESPN radio, it may be more of an uphill climb for sanders.

Sanders is fresh off two excellent seasons at Colorado. Sanders finished his Buffaloes career with 50 games played in four seasons and completed 1,267-of-1,808 passes (70.1 percent) for 14,353 yards and 134 touchdowns with 27 interceptions.