ESPN broadcaster Dick Vitale has openly expressed his support for Shedeur Sanders, the Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback. Despite most analysts projecting Sanders as a first-round selection ahead of the 2025 National Football League Draft, he was ultimately chosen in the fifth round with pick No. 144 by Cleveland. Sanders entered the league following a strong college season at Colorado, where he threw for 4,134 yards and 37 touchdowns.
In his preseason debut for Cleveland against the Carolina Panthers, Sanders completed 14 out of 23 passes for 138 yards and scored two touchdowns, leading to a 30-10 victory.
Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski discussed playing time plans for upcoming preseason games: “We’ll play our starters in the game, depends on how the game flow goes, but between 20 to 25 plays,” Stefanski said. “There will be some guys that get out of there a little bit sooner than others. But it’s really an individualized plan for each guy. But you will see the starters out there.”
Vitale is widely recognized as a college basketball analyst but conveyed his enthusiasm about supporting Sanders this season: “I’m rooting hard for @ShedeurSanders & any athlete that gets a raw deal (…) I hope he proves that he should have NEVER been a 5th round pick. Hope he becomes a success for the @browns who drafted him in the 5th round,” Vitale wrote on social media.
Throughout the pre-draft process, criticism arose regarding Sanders’ perceived lackluster interviews with teams such as the New York Giants and his decision not to participate in workouts at the NFL Combine. However, there is no clear evidence suggesting teams deliberately diminished his draft stock.
Some experts have criticized league scouting methods over quarterback evaluations. ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. said before Cleveland selected Sanders: “The NFL has been clueless for 50 years when it comes to evaluating quarterbacks (…) Clueless. They have no idea what they’re doing in terms of evaluating quarterbacks. That’s proof. There’s proof of that. They say, ‘We know exactly what we’re talking about when it comes to quarterbacks.’ They don’t!”
According to ESPN insider Adam Schefter, there is an increasing expectation that Cleveland may carry all four quarterbacks on its roster into Week One of this season—meaning Sanders could secure a place behind Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett.
With these developments underway, if early results prove unsatisfactory during regular season play, Sanders could be considered further as part of Cleveland’s future plans at quarterback.
