Shedeur Sanders posts telling message after film-study criticism

Jason Lloyd of The Athletic raised some eyebrows earlier this month when he reported that Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders has never been a big film watcher, has had to be coached up in that department, and as a result “doesn’t know what he’s looking at in coverages.”

On one hand, this might help explain Sanders’ tumble in the 2025 NFL Draft, and him opening training camp as No. 4 on the Browns’ depth chart. 

On the other hand, the notion that the son of a first-ballot Hall of Famer and one of the best defensive football players of all time doesn’t understand film or coverages feels like a major stretch.

Lloyd has pretty much been on an island with this report, but he recently doubled down during an appearance on 92.3 The Fan in Cleveland.

Sanders seemed to respond in a somewhat cryptic tweet on Friday morning, and the overall message is one fans have come to expect from a big-name player who’s been refreshingly authentic and humble since arriving in Berea.

“Learn to value the opinions of those who care about you,” Sanders wrote, “not the noise from everyone else.”

Shedeur Sanders seems to refute criticism of his work ethic, and that should be all Browns fans need to hear

Sanders found himself in a tough spot in 2025. He stepped into a starting role in Week 12 after barely repping with the first-team offense throughout training camp or the start of the regular season. His play definitely reflected that at times, but it was impossible not to be encouraged by his clear signs of improvement from week to week, especially given the state of Cleveland's subpar weapons at the skill positions and its patchwork offensive line.

He also didn’t sound like a player who didn’t understand defenses during his sessions with the media after games. More often than not, he overshared about what he saw, sounding very much like a young player actively learning on the fly, and striving to get better.

Lloyd might not be a favorite of Browns fans, but his reporting should be taken at face value. Team insiders don’t just make things up to tweak the fanbase. He’s getting this stuff from somewhere, and it’s up to the fans to believe what they want to believe.

Two things can be true: Sanders, who's been mentored by Tom Brady, remains a work in progress as a 24-year-old professional athlete whose NFL trajectory took an unexpected turn in the 2025 draft. He also deserves the benefit of the doubt here, as chatter from around the team on his film study habits feels greatly exaggerated. Sanders apparently downgrading the claims as “noise” says as much.

We’ll find out the truth soon enough. If Sanders wants to win Cleveland’s still wide-open quarterback job this summer, he’ll need to have the best offseason of his career. Based on the player and person we’ve gotten to know so far, Browns fans should be expecting nothing less at this point.