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Shedeur Sanders compared to former Browns QB.
The Cleveland Browns will continue to roll with Shedeur Sanders at quarterback, and he’s now being compared to a former Browns quarterback.
Sanders entered the 2025 NFL Draft with plenty of hype, but he fell to the fifth round when Cleveland selected him. He began the year inactive as the third-stringer but is now set for his second-straight start.
After helping the Browns win in his first start, NFL analyst Nick Wilson of 92.3 The Fan compares Sanders to Baker Mayfield.
“Kind of like Baker (Mayfield). When Baker came in, that was the right guy at the right time with the right attitude that fit this town,” Wilson said on 92.3 The Fan. “Shedeur isn’t 1-for-1 the same guy, but they represent that same spark. For whatever reason, under Jimmy Haslam, those are the kind of guys who are going to elevate you.”
Wilson believes Sanders acts very similarly to Mayfield, and that could help him have success as the Browns quarterback.
“This is the kind of guy, that I think does have a chance,” Wilson added. “All the crap that comes with being a Browns quarterback, he doesn’t care about.”
Sanders has gone 15-of-36 for 256 yards, 1 touchdown, and 2 interceptions in two games this season.
Sanders Has Full ‘Confidence’ in Himself
The comparison to Mayfield is due to both of them being extremely confident in themselves.
Although Sanders fell to the fifth round, he was still confident that he would have success in the NFL. Ahead of his second NFL start, Sanders said he has full belief and confidence in himself.
“Well, it’s about belief,” Sanders said on Wednesday. “The reason why I am so confident in the way I am is the guys around believe. So that’s what’s most important within having a team, within having an offense, within having to have a sport. You know, you gotta have guys that believe. And I’m fully confident in myself throughout everything, and I’m confident in my team and I’m sure they confident in me also.”
Sanders believes the more first-team reps he gets are better for him, and he has full faith he will continue his success on Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers.
Brown Coach Praises Sanders for Lack of Sacks
In Sanders’ first NFL start, he was much better at getting rid of the ball and not getting sacked.
A knock on Sanders was him holding onto the ball too long, but Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski praised his rookie quarterback for not taking many sacks and getting rid of the ball when he needed to.
“Yeah, I thought he did a great job, the protection plan was really solid. We really had one sack for negative three yards on a coverage sack,” Stefanski said about Sanders. “You know, we went max protection, didn’t really have any underneath options, moved forward in the pocket with great ball security. So that’s a great lesson for the young quarterback – and we took a sack, but it was just for minus three.
“We maintained possession of the ball; he had great ball security throughout that. But it only…you have great success over the course of a game by everybody being on the same page. That’s the quarterback in how he’s operating. That’s the offensive line and who they’re blocking, tight ends and running backs are involved. Obviously people are getting open. So, I thought that was a really, really strong outing for Shedeur in his first start to just have one sack.”
Sanders will now start his second NFL game against the 49ers.
Cole Shelton Cole Shelton covers the NHL, MLB and Cleveland Browns for Heavy.com. He has covered pro and college sports since 2016, including bylines at BJ Penn, USA Today, SB Nation, Rotowire, Canadian Baseball Network and more. More about Cole Shelton
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