Shedeur Sanders is putting up the best numbers of Browns QBs right now

Former CU Buffs QB Shedeur Sanders took a painful slide in April’s NFL Draft.

Thought by many to be a potential No. 1 overall pick, or at the very worst a first-round selection, Sanders shockingly fell to the Cleveland Browns in Round 5. And he wasn’t even the first rookie quarterback they picked, taking Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel in Round 3.

Throw in the fact that the Browns also have veterans Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett and Deshaun Watson and it’s a beyond crowded QB room. Watson is recovering from an Achilles injury, but there’s no way Cleveland carries four quarterbacks in the regular season. Someone is either getting cut or traded, maybe a couple of guys.

But what looked like an uphill battle for Shedeur Sanders is actually going really well. Look at the numbers he put up during Browns OTAs and mini-camp, with some even suggesting he could be Cleveland’s starter in Week 1.

Here are the QB totals from the 5 Browns open media practices (OTAs and minicamp) this spring.

Who do you think should be the Browns QB1? pic.twitter.com/daBfqHvn58

— ESPN Cleveland (@ESPNCleveland) June 12, 2025

Sure, these stats have to be taken with a grain of salt. The defense can’t hit the QB, there’s almost no tackling and some drills are 7-on-7 while others are 11-on-11.

But Shedeur Sanders having a completion percentage of 77.3 percent is noteworthy. On the other hand, Flacco completed just 51.4 percent of his passes, as tracked by ESPN Cleveland. Sanders also threw the most touchdowns with nine.

He’ll have to prove it in the preseason for the Browns if he wants a legitimate chance at starting (or even making the team’s 53-man roster).

But for a quarterback that had a bizarre tumble in the draft, Shedeur Sanders is off to a nice start in Cleveland. Given he was clearly a Round 1 talent after his play with the CU Buffs, that shouldn’t necessarily come as a surprise.

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