ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr.’s disdain for Shedeur Sanders’ slide down the NFL Draft board last year took over the entire broadcast, as he directly called out all the front offices for sleeping on who he believed to be a surefire star and the best quarterback in the class. It was a bit much, but he truly stuck by his beliefs, and only time will tell if he was correct.
The Cleveland Browns finally took him off the board in the fifth round and he made seven starts down the stretch as a rookie, showing all the positives and negatives that made him such a polarizing prospect. It’s still unclear if he’ll be a franchise QB, and because of his last name, he will always come with a lot of critics.
Kiper stopped by ESPN Cleveland to further defend Sanders once again.
He believes Sanders showed everything you’d want in a franchise QB in his rookie year and warned fans not to listen to the doubters.
“The way he competed? The arm strength? In those weather conditions? [Shedeur Sanders] didn’t have an issue there. In terms of mobility and athleticism, he showed that. To me, I don’t know what else you could want. Is he the quarterback of the future? I think he is, the doubters and the haters will be out there saying he’s not,” Kiper said.
“Is he the quarterback of the future? I think he is, the doubters and the haters will be out there saying he’s not,” – Mel Kiper Jr. on Shedeur Sanders 👀
FULL INTERVIEW: pic.twitter.com/CQ7W7hHXBL
— ESPN Cleveland (@ESPNCleveland) March 4, 2026
Sanders left the door open for Deshaun Watson and potentially some external options to be the Week 1 starter at QB, but as of now, he is the leader in the clubhouse. The Browns are over the cap and won’t have the easiest time landing somebody substantial in free agency, so unless they decide to use another high draft pick on a QB, this battle is going to come down to Sanders and Watson.
Watson’s $80 million cap hit significantly hamstrings the franchise this offseason and makes it difficult to explore upgrades anywhere. Because of that, Sanders could get a full year to prove Kiper right.
He absolutely helped open the offense up as soon as he took over as the starter, but the weaknesses were apparent. However, it sounds like Todd Monken is looking forward to working with his new young quarterback, so hopefully we will see the best version of Shedeur Sanders come Week 1.
NEXT:
Insider Throws Cold Water On Browns QB Rumors