Well, it finally happened. Shedeur Sanders received his first real NFL action with the Cleveland Browns after Dillon Gabriel left to be evaluated for a concussion in Week 11.
Despite the excitement behind Sanders taking the field, he didn't exactly rescue the Browns from Baltimore's eventual victory. But, that was to be expected.
As the Browns dropped to 2-8 on the season, they also continued their trend toward a high draft pick next year. And, that's a pick that Sanders should be well in-tune with.
Browns are locked into the top 5 of the 2026 NFL Draft order right now, and Shedeur Sanders should be paying attention
Current top five picks for the 2026 NFL Draft:
1. Titans (1-9)
2. Giants (2-9)
3. Browns (2-8)
4. Saints (2-8)
5. Jets (2-8)
Let's all be real, for a minute. Gabriel isn't the future. We have already seen enough to know that. Is he a career backup? He might be. But, disregard Gabriel for a moment.
Everyone knew that Sanders would get his shot eventually. It was only a matter of time. And, regardless of how you felt about his first regular season action this past week, the fact still remains: Sanders was a fifth-round pick for a reason.
The league didn't think highly enough of Sanders to be a Day 1 or Day 2 pick.
"But, Tom Brady was a Day 3 pick!"
Let's just stop the ridiculousness.
Blame the lack of practice reps, if you'd like. Sanders' 4-of-16 performance against the Ravens was abysmal. Maybe, with some consistent practice, he looks a little better in the near future. In fact, I'd guarantee he does.
But, that's not going to stop the Browns from drafting a first-round quarterback in 2026 when they could wind up with a top-5 pick. The current class of quarterbacks hasn't quite performed up to expectations thus far, but we know how this goes.
Come draft season, we're going to be right back in the conversation of seeing anywhere from 4-6 quarterbacks go in the first round. It's going to happen, and the Browns very well could end up with one of them.
They should end up with one of them.
Sanders is not cut out to be a long-term NFL starter. He's just not. He isn't good enough. The draft already told us that, and his first taste of action against the Ravens further confirmed it.
Again, he will very likely improve. But, he's not going to be a franchise quarterback. Cleveland should be well-prepared to take one next spring, and early.