A year ago, the Cleveland Browns had a quarterback room with two veterans and two rookies. Shedeur Sanders was one of them. From the outset, opinion on Sanders’ NFL readiness garnered attention from all corners. Initially, Sanders appeared locked in a battle with Joe Flacco and Dillon Gabriel. Through trades and injury, he found his way into the starting lineup, with the team firmly under his control.
Flacco is elsewhere, while Sanders’ success seems to have placed him ahead of Gabriel. Yet, that doesn’t mean that he secured the starting spot. Instead, the new Browns head coach Todd Monken named the returning Deshaun Watson to sit atop the depth chart. While many offered dissenting opinions regarding the decision, few possess the overall strength of one national host.
Joel Klatt Predicts Promising Future For Shedeur Sanders
Finding a young, franchise quarterback is one of the toughest aspects of constructing an NFL team. Many believe the Browns found one in Sanders.
However, with the team naming Watson as the starter, you can see the criticism mount. Joel Klatt, in a recent segment on “The Herd With Colin Cowherd,” was optimistic about Sanders’ future.
“He was, at a minimum, the second-best quarterback in that class. Minimum. Maybe the top quarterback,” Klatt said of Sanders. “I still believe, I know this may sound crazy. He’s going to work out somewhere. It might not be Cleveland… and let’s face it, you might just need to leave Cleveland because that place historically has been an absolute dumpster fire when it comes to quarterback play.”
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Sanders’ 56.6% completion percentage does not look like stellar accuracy for a quarterback. However, if you delve into the statistics, you can see why.
Colin Cowherd & Joel Klatt: “Shedeur Sanders was maybe the top quarterback of the draft. He’s the most accurate passer, even shown that at the NFL level. Very smart in understanding the game. He’ll work out. He may need to leave Cleveland. It’s a dumpster fire.” pic.twitter.com/2roFdfJQfG
— Shedeur X (@ShedeurX) August 27, 2026
First and foremost, the play of wide receiver Jerry Jeudy. Jeudy is the unquestioned No. 1 Browns wideout. However, 10 dropped passes and a 47.2% catch rate mean that some of those targets ended drives and stalled momentum. When your lead receiver drops the ball with frequency.
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Now, Sanders will need to watch from the sideline as Watson takes the reins. The veteran hasn’t played in a regular-season game since October 2024, when he ranked as the worst quarterback on PFN’s QB Impact Metric.
Back-to-back Achilles tears sidelined the three-time Pro Bowl selection. In the preseason, the statistics appeared to favor Sanders. However, one factor off the field could have given Watson the edge.
Watson will make $46,000,000 this season. After this year, the team can void the rest of the contract. Still, Browns management probably wants to see some sort of return on investment.
Klatt suggested that Cleveland might not be the place for the young quarterback to thrive. Meanwhile, with Watson’s injury history, the Browns could lean on Sanders again. How he responds remains rather unclear.
