Three reasons why Browns' Shedeur Sanders will continue to struggle with more playing time

The discourse around Shedeur Sanders right now is mostly nonsense. 

Despite his name, Sanders is a fifth-round draft pick with huge holes in his game. He could be great, or he could be another "big name" prospect who fails to make it in the NFL. It's impossible to say which is going to happen at this point in his career. 

It's not going to be something that can be evaluated after one season, let alone one half of a football game. So, his long-term prognosis is up in the air. 

That said, it's fair to expect more bad games ahead for the rookie. Not because he's a bad player, but because the Cleveland Browns have so many issues. Those will hinder his (or any quarterback's) production. Here are the three biggest reasons why Sanders will continue to struggle. 

A struggling offensive line

According to Pro Football Focus, the Browns have five tackles who have played a minimum of 143 snaps, and only one of them (Jack Conklin) has a PFF score of 50.0 or higher. Of the five offensive line starters, only Joel Bitonio has a score that exceeds 70. 

The Browns O-line has given up the 10th-most sacks in the NFL so far, and that number will only climb with yet another rookie under center. Sanders will likely make simple mistakes, just like all rookies do. Thus, his rate of being sacked will likely climb.

No playmaking WRs

If the Browns O-line is bad, their receiver room is downright dreadful. Among Browns receivers with 100 snaps or more, none of them broke a 58.5 at the time of press.

Jerry Jeudy is once again leading the league in drops, and despite playing in 10 games, he has just 356 yards on the season. Clearly, whatever progress he showed in 2024 has evaporated in 2025. 

Right now, tight ends Harold Fannin Jr., David Njoku and running back Dylan Sampson are the best targets to throw to, highlighting a major issue of talent (or lack thereof) at receiver currently.

Underwhelming play-calling

You'd be within reason to accuse the Browns of not playing offense all year, with how miserable that side of the ball has looked all season. The lack of talent at receiver and the aging offensive line are factors in the inconsistent offense, yet the play-calling has been underwhelming. When Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski has a strong team, he's a good play-calling coach. 

Yet, when the talent isn't there, the team struggles. We saw that under Stefanski's play-calling earlier this season, and now we're seeing it again with Tommy Rees, the team's new play-caller. 

The issues persist regardless of who's calling plays. This is a team that doesn't have the talent needed to play the way the coaches want. Due to a lack of talent, the passing game Stefanski wants to use is ineffective. As a result, the Browns go over on stunts and the run game, quickly burning out what potential players like Quinshon Judkins can have.

They're also hellbent on only using one running back for the first time in Stefanski's tenure. Judkins isn't truly splitting reps with other backs, a staple of past Stefanski offenses. It further highlights the change in mentality from season to season. Sampson is second to Judkins with 31 carries to 157. Rookie QB Dillon Gabriel is second on the team in rushing yards to Judkins, with 86 to Judkins' 620.