Former Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders shocked the world when he slid from a potential first-round pick to Day 3 of the 2025 NFL Draft. His free fall was stopped by the Cleveland Browns, who selected him in the fifth round.
The Browns had already selected Dillion Gabriel in the third round, which has led to questions about which of the two rookies will be better equipped to take over as QB1 this season. However, former NFL defensive back Tyvis Powell, who was briefly with the Browns in 2017, weighed in on Sanders missing first-team reps.
Learning Curve: Shedeur Sanders Still Adapting to Browns’ Offense
On a recent episode of the “Ultimate Cleveland Sports Show,” co-host Adam Gerstenhaber asked Powell about recent comments made about Sanders and Gabriel. According to some reports, Gabriel might be picking up the Browns’ offense much faster than Sanders.
Gerstenhaber said that many fans assumed that Sanders was more “NFL ready” because of the way he played at Colorado, but these reports imply that he has a long way to go before he is ready.
Powell mentioned this has come up before, and concerns about Sanders have been ongoing. They were raised when the New York Giants were apparently unhappy with how he processed the playbook during their interview.
“Anybody can see it is clear as day,” Powell says. “The only thing that could possibly be holding him back would be the playbook and how he’s able to process. I wouldn’t necessarily say on the field he’s slow processing because as you can see he’s still going to the right spot with the football.”
Powell continued to say it’s clear from watching the film that Sanders knows what to do, but that the verbiage or terminology differences between college play calling and NFL play calling are what could be throwing him off.
REPORT: Dillon Gabriel learning #Browns offense RAPIDLY & Shedeur Sanders progressing slower@1Tyvis says a learning curve should not stop Shedeur from receiving first team practice reps.
▶️: https://t.co/OPyZWSqdf3 pic.twitter.com/iElPnOl5Av
— Ultimate Cleveland Sports Show (@ultCLEsports) June 17, 2025
Powell noted that it happened to him when he came into the league, and he expects it to happen to some degree to all of these rookie quarterbacks, except Gabriel.
Analyst Says Sanders Needs First-Team Reps to Prove Himself to the Browns
The Browns have no doubt one of the strangest quarterback rooms in the league, with four viable signal-callers: Kenny Pickett, Joe Flacco, Sanders and Gabriel. Most analysts assume that Pickett or Flacco will win the starting job, but Powell doesn’t think it should be that clear-cut.
There is a learning curve for all rookie players, and it can be confusing. Powell expects Sanders to be 100% up to speed by Week 1, which is why he thinks Sanders needs to be taking first-team reps.
“I still think he deserves the reps with the ones,” Powell said. “He physically looks ready. I still need to see him with the ones to see what he looks like. Give him a wristband or something like that, let him go out there, read it off the thing and let him throw the ball with the ones.”
Powell said he knows head coach Kevin Stefanski has told the media not to read too much into who’s taking reps because they have a specific way of doing things. Regardless of the Browns’ way, Powell feels it is impossible for them to fully assess Sanders’ capability unless they put him on the field.
While Stefanski’s approach to practice reps may follow a set philosophy, the consensus among analysts is that Sanders’ true evaluation will depend on how he performs when given meaningful opportunities, whether in preseason games or live-action scenarios.