The anticipation of seeing Shedeur Sanders lead an NFL offense will continue to swell until the Browns name him their QB1; there's no two ways about it.
Unfortunately, that hype-train will be stuck in the station for at least another year before any conclusions can be drawn about the QB.
Till then, Sanders will be all but a "developmental quarterback."
"The media are doing Shedeur a disservice by inflating where he’s at right now. He’s a developmental quarterback, just like Dillon Gabriel—he’s not a franchise quarterback. Overinflating expectations is just not good," Browns Insider Tony Grossi unequivocally stated about Sanders on 850 ESPN Cleveland.
"He’s not close to being QB1."
Arguably, it stems from Sanders being a fifth-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, and not to mention, the fourth-string QB in the Browns pecking order.
However, that is in no way stopping Sanders from proving himself as a QB worthy of all the hype. He seems to be on the right track for now.
The feedback on Sanders during Browns OTAs has been optimistic, but clearly indicates that he needs just another year on the bench to season himself enough to face the NFL defenses.
That extra time should also help head coach Kevin Stefanski better fit Sanders into his offense.
"He's perfect for the under-center, play-action, control the line of scrimmage - get from 1,2,3, he's got to do it more quickly, but he's custom-made for that," ESPN's Dan Orlovsky said about the QB.
"The way that he thinks, the way that he can see something on the board, take it to a walkthrough, and then bring it to a practice...that's seeing very quickly," he continued, alluding that Sanders will perfectly click in place in Stefanski's offense for whenever he gets a starting role.
How true that turns out to be, only time will tell.