As a senior at the University of Colorado, Shedeur Sanders completed a remarkable 74 percent of his passes. That, coupled with his 69.3 percentage from his junior season, made him the all-time FBS leader in completion rate at 71.8 percent. It's a feat that is not to be glossed over, and his 8.7 yards per attempt indicates that he wasn't just checking it down, either.
Of course, the college game is very different from the pros. Throwing windows are tighter, defenders are better, and the pass rush is supremely difficult to navigate. Nonetheless, a somewhat troubling trend emerged through Sanders' first five starts.
Sanders has been struggling to find completions. In fact, even with his 20-for-29 performance against Buffalo on Sunday, he still ranks 44th out of 44 quarterbacks who have thrown more than 100 passes in completion percentage this season (55.1%). However, the Buffalo game appears to have been a step in the right direction, as he was able to find completions against the NFL's No. 2 ranked pass defense to the tune of a career-high 69 percent completion rate.
What's more, the Browns have the 11th most drops as a team, per Stat Rankings, but only one of them has come in the last five weeks. While it's fair to criticize the Browns' pass catchers in terms of getting open and making plays for their rookie QB, it's clear they've been holding onto the ball when it's on target.
After Sunday's contest, which was much closer than many expected, Sanders spoke about the mindset change that preceded his improved performance.
"It’s just a mental thing. It was kind of like, understand that winning in this game, in the league is play by play, so you’ve got to play each play for what it is and don’t try to do a lot. And try to take what’s there, and try to do that. … I want to win, so I’m trying to get to it. But instead of that: Slow down, take the check down, take the easy stuff, do what you gotta do. And as the game goes on and time goes on you’re going to be able to chop it down. You’ll be able to move the ball and keep getting completions. So it was just a mentality. It was just something that I just had to focus on mentally."
Shedeur Sanders is developing through some growing pains (and it's promising)
One of, if not the most difficult thresholds to navigate for NFL quarterbacks is the balancing act between when to be aggressive and when to take what the defense is giving them. Just this season, Browns fans have been exposed to both extremes of the spectrum.
Of those same 44 quarterbacks referenced above, Dillon Gabriel ranks last in deep throw rate (pass attempts exceeding 20 yards) at a paltry 5.43 percent. Sanders ranks 11th at 13.77 percent. It's clear that Kevin Stefanski and Co. instructed Sanders that he doesn't have to win the game with each throw. Sometimes the best thing a quarterback can do is take the easy completion and live for the next down, which was evident from his performance against the Buffalo Bills.
The arrow is pointing up for Shedeur Sanders. His performance in these final two games will be critical to his future with the Cleveland Browns. There's a lot he can do to put himself in the best position to retain the starting gig in 2026. All that remains to be seen is whether he will deliver on the promise he's shown thus far.