Every year, the NFL Draft injects a ton of new talent into the league. Naturally, this shakes up fantasy football values. With the Cleveland Browns ending Shedeur Sanders’ slide in the fifth round, what does the surprising fall mean for the fantasy values’ the Browns’ offensive weapons?
Fantasy Impact of Browns Drafting Shedeur Sanders
Many predicted Sanders’ slide, possibly falling out of the first round. Going to the Browns was not a surprise, but no one could have seen Sanders not being selected until the fifth round.
Obviously, draft capital is hugely important, especially at quarterback. The vast majority of fantasy-relevant QBs and effective NFL QBs are taken in the first round. If his name wasn’t “Shedeur Sanders,” I wouldn’t even be writing about a Day 3 QB.
Any Day 3 QB is fighting an incredibly steep uphill battle to ever start, let alone matter in fantasy. But if there ever were a spot, it’s hard to imagine a better one than Cleveland.
This is a quarterback room without a clear starter. Deshaun Watson is coming off one of the worst seasons in the history of PFSN’s QB+ metric. Joe Flacco is 40 years old. Kenny Pickett is a quality backup, but we’ve seen him as a starter, and it didn’t go well.
That leaves the Browns with two rookies, both of whom will have a shot to compete for the starting job. Dillon Gabriel should be considered the favorite among the rookies, as he was the one drafted on Day 2. But a Day 2 rookie doesn’t have any sort of incumbent advantage. If Sanders acquits himself and performs like the guy who was projected to go in the first round, he could very well win this job.
With that said, if Sanders were a first-round talent, even the alleged off-the-field issues and rumors of his poor attitude would not have pushed him this far down the board. He is not a fully finished product. There’s a lot of work to be done for him to be an NFL-caliber starter.
The good news is that the physical tools are all there. It will come down to whether he is coachable.
Assessing Sanders’ impact on Jerry Jeudy, David Njoku, and the rest of the Browns’ offense isn’t a worthwhile endeavor at this point. He will likely open training camp fourth on the depth chart. If we get positive training camp reports and see development/movement toward Sanders potentially winning the starting job, we can revisit the fantasy prospects of this entire roster.
For now, Sanders is nothing more than a third- or fourth-round dynasty rookie draft dart throw.