The NFL draft has a long history of "how did they miss on that guy?" moments. Tom Brady at 199. Russell Wilson in the third round. Even Patrick Mahomes sliding to tenth overall feels criminal in hindsight. This Sunday, when Shedeur Sanders takes the field for his first career NFL start, the league might be witnessing the early chapters of another one of those stories.
The son of NFL Hall of Famer Deion "Coach Prime" Sanders was widely projected as a first-round talent. ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. rated him as the top quarterback prospect in the 2025 draft class. His father publicly predicted he'd be a top-five pick. Instead, Sanders watched 143 players get selected before the Cleveland Browns finally traded up to grab him with the 144th overall pick in the fifth round.
Now, after a rough NFL debut last week—thrown into action at halftime with zero first-team reps all season—Sanders gets a real opportunity. He'll start against the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday with a full week of preparation and a chance to rewrite the narrative. And if he succeeds, 31 NFL teams are going to have some serious explaining to do.
The College Phenom Nobody Wanted
Sanders' college résumé reads like a future NFL starter, not a fifth-round afterthought. At Colorado, he dominated in his two seasons under his father's guidance, throwing for 7,366 yards and 65 touchdowns with just nine interceptions. In 2024, he won the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year award while posting a jaw-dropping 74% completion percentage—the highest in FBS history for a single season.
Those numbers weren't compiled against cupcake competition, either. Sanders led Colorado to a 9-4 record in 2024, and his legendary debut against TCU in 2023—a 510-yard, four-touchdown performance in a 45-42 upset—announced his arrival on college football's biggest stage.
But his success started even earlier. At Jackson State, Sanders threw for 70 touchdowns in just two seasons, winning the Jerry Rice Award as the nation's top FCS freshman and the Deacon Jones Trophy as the best HBCU player. He led the Tigers to back-to-back SWAC championships before following his father to Colorado.
On November 22, 2025—just two days before his first NFL start—Colorado retired Sanders' jersey, making him the first player in school history to receive that honor. Think about that timeline: a college program retires your number, and two days later you're trying to prove to NFL teams they made a mistake.
The Fall: What Scouts Saw (Or Didn't)
So what happened? Why did a quarterback with those credentials slip to Day 3?
| College Stats Comparison | Shedeur Sanders | Other 2025 1st Rd QBs (Avg) |
|---|---|---|
| Completion % | 71.8% (career) | ~64% |
| TD:INT Ratio | 135:18 (career) | ~3:1 |
| Total Passing Yards | 12,398 | ~9,500 |
| Total TDs | 135 | ~88 |
The concerns weren't about his production—they were about his process. An anonymous NFL scout told reporters that Sanders "takes unnecessary sacks" and "never plays on time," suggesting he held the ball too long looking for big plays rather than taking what defenses gave him. There were whispers about whether his success was more about playing in his father's system than translating to the NFL.
Some evaluators questioned his mobility in an era where dual-threat quarterbacks dominate. Others wondered if playing for Coach Prime had created unrealistic expectations about his NFL readiness. The pre-draft narrative painted Sanders as talented but raw, a developmental prospect rather than an immediate contributor.
Browns General Manager Andrew Berry compared Sanders' transition to learning a new language: "It's like someone who was fluent in English and now you have to learn Mandarin."
The Debut Disaster (With Context)
Last Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens, Sanders' NFL debut seemed to confirm all those doubts. He completed just four of 16 passes for 47 yards, threw an interception, and was sacked twice. The Browns, who led by six at halftime, lost 23-16.
The stat line is ugly. But the context matters enormously.
Sanders entered at halftime after Dillon Gabriel suffered a concussion. It was his first action with the starting offense all season—and we mean literally his first snaps. Not in practice. Not in walkthroughs. His first time throwing to starting receivers Jerry Jeudy and Cedric Tillman in any setting.
"I don't think I played good at all," Sanders admitted after the game, with the kind of accountability scouts claimed to value. "I think there's a lot of things we need to look at during the week... I think that was my first ball to [Jeudy] all year."
Browns defensive end Myles Garrett came to his rookie's defense: "He wanted to pin it on himself and his performance, but we're not going to allow him to do that."
Even Kiper, who championed Sanders before the draft, urged patience: "Forget the stat chart with Shedeur. Realize what he was dealing with, and the Ravens after his first two completions sent everything but the kitchen sink after him."
What Makes Sanders Special
Despite the debut struggles, the talent that made Sanders a college star hasn't disappeared. His accuracy remains elite—that 74% completion rate at Colorado wasn't a fluke. His ball placement and anticipation on underneath routes are NFL-ready. When protected and in rhythm, Sanders shows the precision that made him so successful in college.
Browns legend Joe Thomas, a future Hall of Famer who knows something about evaluating quarterbacks, remains bullish on Sanders' potential. Speaking to Cleveland's 92.3 The Fan this week, Thomas said: "He's a guy that is a natural leader. People are drawn to him. He has an unquestionable mental toughness. An ability to shake off bad plays and move on, which is one of the hallmarks of all great quarterbacks."
Thomas continued: "He's very accurate, can push the ball down the field, and he's a gamer. That's what I think about when I think of Shedeur Sanders."
The mental makeup matters. Sanders has spent his entire life in high-pressure situations, playing for his Hall of Fame father with the entire country watching. He's faced criticism, social media scrutiny, and unrealistic expectations since high school. That kind of mental toughness doesn't show up on combine metrics, but it's invaluable for NFL quarterbacks.
Why Teams Will Regret Passing
Here's the uncomfortable truth for the 31 teams that passed on Sanders (multiple times): the Browns didn't need to spend significant draft capital to get him. They traded up using two late-round picks. If Sanders becomes even an average NFL starter, that's a steal that changes a franchise.
Cleveland's quarterback history since returning to the league in 1999 is a horror show. Sanders will be the 42nd different starting quarterback for the Browns in that span. Forty-two. If Sanders provides even stability—forget stardom—that's transformative for a franchise that's been searching for answers at the position for a quarter-century.
The broader NFL landscape makes Sanders' value even clearer. Quarterback remains the most important position in sports, and finding one is borderline impossible. Teams spend top-five picks on quarterbacks who flame out. They mortgage futures for aging veterans. They cycle through journeymen hoping to catch lightning in a bottle.
Sanders has the tools, the résumé, and the pedigree. He completed 74% of his passes against Power Five competition. He won everywhere he played—Jackson State championships, Colorado bowl games, individual awards. And now he's getting first-team reps, game-planned specifically for his strengths, with nothing to lose and everything to prove.
The Opportunity Ahead
Sunday's matchup against the Raiders couldn't be better scripted. Both teams are 2-8, playing for pride and future positioning. The Raiders' defense ranks ninth in points allowed, but they're far from unbeatable. For a quarterback making his first start, this represents a legitimate chance to succeed.
Browns coach Kevin Stefanski has indicated that Gabriel will return as the starter once cleared from concussion protocol. But football is a meritocracy—or at least it should be. If Sanders plays well, Stefanski will face enormous pressure to keep him in the lineup.
More importantly, this is Sanders' audition for the rest of the league. Cleveland holds two first-round picks in the 2026 draft and is widely expected to target a franchise quarterback. A strong performance Sunday doesn't just help Sanders' case in Cleveland—it makes 31 other teams wonder why they let him slip.
The Bottom Line
Will NFL teams regret passing on Shedeur Sanders? Ask again in a few years. But the early signs suggest this is a story worth watching closely. Sanders has the college production, the mental makeup, and the preparation that NFL teams claim to value. He just needed the opportunity.
Sunday, he gets it. With a full week of first-team reps, a game plan designed for his strengths, and a chance to prove every doubter wrong, Sanders steps into the spotlight. The same spotlight he's thrived under his entire career.
Thirty-one teams had multiple chances to draft him. The Browns got him in the fifth round. If Sanders succeeds—and there's plenty of reason to think he can—those teams won't just regret passing on him. They'll regret not trading up to grab him when they had the chance.
The draft slides. The criticism. The comparisons. None of it matters now. On Sunday, Shedeur Sanders finally gets his real NFL debut. And the league will be watching to see if they made a $100 million mistake.
Sources:
- ESPN: "Browns QB Shedeur Sanders to make first NFL start" (Nov 19, 2025)
- ESPN: "Browns' Shedeur Sanders debuts after Dillon Gabriel concussion" (Nov 16, 2025)
- The Ringer: "What Does Success Look Like for Shedeur Sanders in His First NFL Start?" (Nov 21, 2025)
- Sports Illustrated: "Shedeur Sanders' first career start has massive implications for Browns' future" (Nov 21, 2025)
- Newsweek: "Browns Legend Has Huge Prediction for Shedeur Sanders' First Start" (Nov 22, 2025)
- Wikipedia: "Shedeur Sanders" (accessed Nov 22, 2025)
- CBS Sports: "Where to watch Shedeur Sanders' first career NFL start" (Nov 21, 2025)