Drafting Shedeur Sanders came with much more than just his skill set for the Cleveland Browns. He had a massive media presence, especially social media, and an ever-growing fan base that was going to be absolutely brutal on the coaching staff.
Some believe that also played a big part in his now-infamous draft slide. And it's why some thought the Browns made a mistake by rolling the dice on him, given that they had had their fair share of quarterback-related controversy and distraction with Deshaun Watson (and had already selected Dillon Gabriel in the third round).
Fast forward to today, and those people may have been right. However, regardless of the outside noise and his fans, new head coach Todd Monken won’t just give Shedeur the keys to the offense; he’ll have to earn that right.
With that in mind, Shedeur's father, Deion Sanders, offered him a piece of advice to help him win the job during a recent interview on ESPN's First Take.
“Work. That’s the way you win everything in life. I ain’t never seen somebody who didn’t want to work win. He’s a bona fide worker. He’s a true leader. He’s a bona fide baller. Just get in there with the head coach, get in there with the OC, get in the playbook early, and just put in work."
Deion Sanders says exactly how Shedeur wins Browns’ QB1 job
Sanders clearly still needs to work on multiple aspects of his game. He holds onto the ball for way too long, takes unnecessary risks, and has to learn when to go for the home run. He’s also not the fastest or most athletic player out there.
That said, his work ethic has always been his best trait. He grew up around NFL stars, and as the son of one of the greatest to ever lace them up, he knows that there are no shortcuts to success. He’s not going to be a star just because of the name on the back of his jersey.
His rookie season was a mixed bag. He showed some flashes of strong play, but he also looked raw and erratic at times. Of course, he wouldn’t be the first rookie signal-caller to struggle, so it’s way too early to give up on him.
He’s going to have a fair shot at the QB1 job and a clean slate with Monken at the helm. Also, he’s not going to have that much high-end competition for the position.
The ball’s on his court, and it’ll be up to him to prove the doubters wrong.