The Cleveland Browns are in a peculiar position as they are trying to figure out who their signal-caller will be this season. It seems like it will either be the veteran with a shaky past, Deshaun Watson, or the second-year quarterback, Shedeur Sanders. So, who should Cleveland go with as their starter?
Pros and Cons of Shedeur Sanders Starting for the Browns
Some are not for Sanders starting, as on an episode of “Speakeasy,” former NFL linebacker Emanuel Acho stated pretty bluntly to former wideout T.J. Houshmandzadeh, “I am going to say something that only makes sense to you, Shedeur doesn’t [deserve] a fair shot, fifth round picks do not deserve a fair shot.”
Houshmandzadeh replied that there are outliers, players drafted in later rounds who have seen success in the NFL.
Acho continued by saying, “To be that outlier, Kirk Cousins fourth round pick, Robert Griffin III first round draft pick; same draft class. Cousins only started, though, because Robert got hurt. Dak Prescott, fourth round pick, he only started because Tony Romo got hurt; and then what do you do when that person does get hurt?
“Prescott, as a rookie, went 13 and 3 and led the Cowboys to the playoffs, and lost to the Green Bay Packers. Cousins, when he took over as a starter, had 4,500 and 4,700 passing yards.”
So, to consider Acho’s point, what did Sanders do last year when he got the chance to start for “The Land”? Sanders started 7 games, going 3-4 in that stretch.
Two of those wins came against the Browns’ division rivals, the Cincinnati Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers. Even though the Browns’ defense was very good in those victories, Sanders did play his part in defeating Joe Burrow and Aaron Rodgers.
It is also important to note that Sanders’ best game was against the Tennessee Titans, a game the Browns lost 31-29 at home. In this game, Sanders threw for the most yards in a game, 364, and touchdowns, 3.
Sanders also almost beat Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills as the Browns barely lost, 23-20. For his season, Sanders got an F grade and ranked 40th according to PFSN’s QB Impact Metric.
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So, Sanders had his ups and downs, but mainly more negative performances. Sanders had four games where he threw more interceptions than touchdowns. One could argue that this was because the Browns lacked a strong supporting cast, as their offensive line ranked dead last and received an F grade according to PFSN’s O Line Impact Metric.
However, Acho pushed back on this idea by saying, “Fam, I know what you are thinking. Dak had Dez, Cole Beasley, Terrance Williams, Ezekiel Elliott, and a phenomenal offensive line, but it doesn’t matter. Everybody has excuses and whatnot. Shedeur, it doesn’t matter what he does and does not have; he just has to go out there and ball.”
If Sanders gets the start, he will be taught by new Browns head coach Todd Monken. Monken was the Baltimore Ravens’ offensive coordinator for the past three seasons.
During that time, Monken helped coach Ravens QB Lamar Jackson to an MVP in 2023 and an MVP-like season in 2024. Sanders will also get to throw to new wideouts that the Browns drafted, Denzel Boston and KC Concepcion.
Overall, there are a lot of pros and cons to Sanders starting, and it will be interesting to see how things play out for the 24-year-old quarterback.