Shedeur Sanders continues to be a media focal point after falling to the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft. The quarterback landed with the Cleveland Browns and was thrust immediately into a four-way battle for QB1 with third-round rookie Dillon Gabriel and veterans Kenny Pickett and Joe Flacco.
While many expect either Gabriel or Flacco to be the Browns’ starter in Week 1, Sanders has been impressing fans and analysts alike at the rookie minicamp and OTAs, and one analyst argues the competition for the starting quarterback position in Cleveland is over.
Colin Cowherd Projects Shedeur Sanders as the Winner Of Browns QB1 Competition
The entire NFL, including reputed analyst Colin Cowherd, was shocked when Sanders dropped to the fifth round. It raised many questions about how everyone could have gotten it so wrong.
However, Sanders’ talent is eventually beginning to show now, with the 23-year-old having impressed with his work ethic during the rookie minicamp, and now his stats from the Browns’ OTAs are turning heads.
Is it time to call the Cleveland Browns QB race?@ColinCowherd has seen enough and predicts that Shedeur Sanders will be the eventual Cleveland Browns starting quarterback. pic.twitter.com/5QvkPr4F8W
— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) May 29, 2025
Sanders was the best quarterback on the second day of the workouts on May 28, completing 7 of 9 (78%) passes for three touchdowns and no interceptions, prompting Cowherd to project him as the winner of the QB1 competition.
“It appears in the four-quarterback derby, despite the fact that Shedeur Sanders had the fewest attempts, he was the most efficient and most productive with the fewest reps,” Cowherd said on “The Herd.” “I’ve seen enough. I’m calling it a wrap. The Herd newsroom is calling it in Ohio. By a landslide, Shedeur Sanders should be starting.”
There’s no doubt that Sanders threw the ball better than the rest of his competition, but in the real football world, there almost is no such thing as “OTA passing stats.” But here we are, and Cowherd doesn’t even think the competition is as close as projected in the media.
“We are calling Ohio as the projected winner in a race that’s not as close as the fake news projected,” Cowherd added. “You can keep selling me on Pickett, you can keep selling me on Dillon Gabriel. Now, Flacco, I buy. He’s one of my favorite guys that’s ever played, and I think he’s gonna win the starting job initially, but I’m calling it for Shedeur.”
The Browns’ OTA period runs through June 19, with breaks between phases. By the time training camp rolls around, the pecking order may well have Sanders at the top. But for now, he will need to continue outperforming Gabriel, Flacco, and Pickett because one practice would never be enough to sway the tide in his favor.