ESPN analysts debate if Shedeur Sanders can win Cleveland Browns QB competition

The Cleveland Browns’ quarterback competition is underway at OTAs. One of Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, Dillon Gabriel or Shedeur Sanders will ultimately win the job.

Sanders is the intriguing name, for obvious reasons. His NFL Draft slide was surprising, but the reality is that he is a fifth-round pick trying to stick in the NFL. For most in that situation, it’s an uphill climb to make the 53-man roster. While ESPN‘s Louis Riddick acknowledges that, he believes that Sanders, based on his skillset, can beat out Flacco, Pickett and Gabriel for the QB1 job.

“It’s gonna be incumbent upon this coaching staff to give him a path to earn that,” Riddick said. “If they give him enough reps and he has enough opportunities and gets put in enough situations, I think his skillset is that he can compete with anyone on that roster in the quarterback room. As a matter of fact, he can probably one-for-one, man-for-man, beat out anyone on that roster. It’s gonna be about opportunity. We all know this. We’ll see how they wind up getting him that opportunity.”

Shedeur Sanders battling it out for Browns QB1 job

Typically, you wouldn’t expect a fifth-round quarterback to start Week 1. In fact, only one quarterback selected in the fifth round — Mark Brunell — has made a Pro Bowl. Sanders is, however, the reigning Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year and most draft analysts had him as a Day 1 or Day 2 pick.

Still, he has to prove himself at this level. Given that Cleveland has two first round picks next year in a draft that’s rich at the quarterback position, ESPN‘s Peter Schrager says the pressure is on Sanders and all of these quarterbacks to prove they can play.

“I am watching from afar and also texting people there that he has been everything you can ask for as far as a quarterback coming in as a fifth-round pick. I also know it’s a huge uphill climb to expect a fifth-round pick to get the same reps as a Joe Flacco, or a Kenny Pickett or even Dillon Gabriel,” Schrager said. “Thought Mike Tannenbaum made a great point on Monday on this show saying, ‘As much as the clock is not on him, it is actually on all these quarterbacks in that they have the Jacksonville pick next year in the first round, and they have their own pick in the first round and you already start thinking about 2026 being a rich quarterback draft.’

“You’ve got time to prove it in training camp, but you’re going to have to prove it to those coaches that you’re the guy moving forward if you’re going to tell them they can’t draft a quarterback with those first two picks.”