Shedeur Sanders’ fall during the NFL Draft in 2025 was a story that captivated the public, but his selection in the fifth round appeared accurate after an uninspiring rookie season that saw him average under one touchdown pass and over one interception per game.
Should I Draft Shedeur Sanders in Fantasy Football?
The drumbeat during the preseason has been leaning in favor of Deshaun Watson to break camp as the starting quarterback in Cleveland, further removing Sanders from fantasy radars. Watson was officially named the starter after the second week of preseason, but he is clearly on some very shaky ground. Every QB that has a chance to start is worth holding in Superflex leagues, but in anything else, this is pretty clearly a no-fly zone, regardless of who takes the first snap.
This is a Browns team with an underwhelming WR1 in Jerry Jeudy and rookies fighting for WR targets beyond that. Harold Fannin looked like the real deal in 2025 (his numbers spiked with Sanders for those looking to invest in the promising tight end), but we saw last season in Vegas that simply having a strong pass-catching TE isn’t nearly enough to make the QB viable in our game.
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We don’t know that Sanders can play at this level, and we don’t know that growth for him would even matter in a unit as limited as this one. Sanders is very much a player you can track, but it’s going to near unprecedented growth for him to even factor in as a bye week filler in one-QB leagues.
Kyle Soppe’s QB Fantasy Rankings 2026
- Josh Allen | BUF
- Drake Maye | NE
- Joe Burrow | CIN
- Lamar Jackson | BAL
- Jayden Daniels | WAS
- Caleb Williams | CHI
- Justin Herbert | LAC
- Jalen Hurts | PHI
- Jaxson Dart | NYG
- Trevor Lawrence | JAX
- Dak Prescott | DAL
- Bo Nix | DEN
- Patrick Mahomes II | KC
- Brock Purdy | SF
- Matthew Stafford | LAR
- Jared Goff | DET
- Kyler Murray | MIN
- Jordan Love | GB
- Tyler Shough | NO
- Baker Mayfield | TB
- C.J. Stroud | HOU
- Malik Willis | MIA
- Daniel Jones | IND
- Sam Darnold | SEA
- Bryce Young | CAR
- Jacoby Brissett | ARI
- Cam Ward | TEN
- Aaron Rodgers | PIT
- Fernando Mendoza | LV
- Justin Fields | KC
- Kirk Cousins | LV
- Geno Smith | NYJ
- Michael Penix Jr. | ATL
- Shedeur Sanders | CLE
- Deshaun Watson | CLE
