The Cleveland Browns certainly didn’t plan for their season to come down to a fifth-round rookie quarterback, but here we are as Week 12 approaches. With Dillon Gabriel still in concussion protocol, Shedeur Sanders is set to take the field for his very first NFL start. The pressure is immense, the spotlight is bright, and the Raiders are already hinting at what he can expect.
Patrick Graham Warns Sanders About NFL Pass Rush ‘Monsters’
As the Browns aim to break a 13-game road losing streak in Las Vegas, Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham has issued a straightforward warning about Sanders’ playing style and how his defense intends to take advantage of it.
The Raiders have been analyzing Sanders’ debut all week, and one thing jumped out: he has a habit of drifting backward instead of stepping up in the pocket. When asked about preparing for a quarterback who escapes in a way that’s a bit different, Graham didn’t mince words.
“All young quarterbacks think that’s the move,” Graham said. “You could do that, but the monsters are back there… I’m sure Coach Stefanski and Coach Reed’s working on stepping into the pocket. In college it’s just different. You got Max Crosby, [T.J.] Watt. I would stay the hell away from being back there.”
The message was clear. Drifting backward might work in the Pac-12, but in the NFL, it’s different. And Max Crosby, one of the league’s most relentless defensive ends, is waiting.
Sanders’ debut against Baltimore showcased exactly the concern Graham highlighted. Sanders completed just 4-of-16 passes with an interception and took two sacks. He also threw into tight windows 43.8% of the time, more than any quarterback that week, showing the gunslinger mentality that made him polarizing throughout the draft process.
But for Sanders, the most formidable challenge might not have been facing the Ravens’ defense. It was the fact that he hadn’t had enough practice reps. His teammates revealed on Sunday that he had never actually thrown a pass to Jerry Jeudy during practice until that game.
That unfamiliarity showed. Sanders misread Jeudy’s break on one route, resulting in a Nate Wiggins interception. Yet even in the chaos, Sanders found pockets of promise. His near-end zone strike to rookie Gage Larvadain highlighted his natural feel with players he’d worked with since minicamp.
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Now he gets something he didn’t have before: a week of preparation as the starter.
Inside the building, Sanders’ opportunity is being framed as both a challenge and a test. “I’m truly excited, knowing that I have a piece in the offense and a say so,” Sanders said this week. Stefanski echoed the optimism: “You want to make sure that all the concepts are things that he feels confident in… having been around him over the months, you get a good sense of the things that fit his eyes.”
The Raiders defense, ranked 26th in PFSN’s Defense Impact, has a 68.7 defense impact score and offers a different challenge compared to Baltimore’s aggressive unit. At the same time, the Browns’ offensive rating in PFSN’s Offense Impact is also not good, with a score of 52.9 and a ranking of last.
As Sanders prepares for Sunday, the challenge ahead becomes bigger than a single start. For the Browns, this game is less about survival and more about seeing whether their rookie can finally take the next step.
