In the run-up to the 2025 NFL Draft, a general consensus of the class's top quarterbacks began to take shape. Most everyone had Cam Ward as the top-rated signal-caller, followed by some configuration of Jaxson Dart, Shedeur Sanders, and Tyler Shough. The story of draft day quickly shifted to Sanders' free fall, as he plummeted out of the first four rounds entirely.
After months of media speculation that Sanders would be a first-round draft pick, he instead was available for the taking in the fifth round. At that point, the value was too much for Andrew Berry to ignore. Despite the fact that he had already taken a quarterback in the third round with Dillon Gabriel, he double-dipped at the position and made Shedeur Sanders a Cleveland Brown at pick No. 144.
It felt like whiplash to NFL fans that a player who was touted by some draft experts as a top-tier QB would instead have to fight to even make a 53-man roster. Despite the unfair reputation that precedes him, Sanders quietly went to work and bided his time until an opportunity arose.
Sanders had plenty of bumps along the way, but if one game sold a heaping pile of hope to the Dawg Pound, it was the team's Week 14 loss to the Tennessee Titans.
Shedeur Sanders could get a shot at redemption against Cam Ward in Week 7
Sanders had his best game as a pro, completing 23 of 42 pass attempts for 364 yards and three TDs (with one interception), outplaying fellow rookie Cam Ward, who went 14 for 28 with 117 yards, two TDs, and a pick in the contest. Unfortunately, the game will be remembered for then-head coach Kevin Stefanski's infamous decision to have running back Quinshon Judkins attempt a wildcat pass for the game-tying two-point conversion. If there was ever an example of Stefanski not trusting Sanders — that was it.
Admittedly, Sanders has bigger fish to fry at the moment. He is embroiled in a depressing quarterback competition with the underwhelming (but more experienced) Deshaun Watson. If Sanders is able to wrangle the starting job, it's safe to assume he will have Week 7 circled on the schedule.
The Browns will this time visit the Titans at Nissan Stadium, for the second potential matchup between the most hyped QBs of the 2025 class. It has to stick with Sanders that, despite outperforming the player he was most compared to coming out, he wound up taking the L. It's made worse that the ball was taken out of his hands in the most critical moment. It's the kind of thing that would lead to a few understandably sleepless nights.
Fans have come to hope that boneheaded decisions like Stefanski's two-point gaffe are a relic of the past. Todd Monken has taken over the lead role, and for better or worse, he's going to tell it like it is. Hopefully that no-nonsense approach carries over into his play-calling decisions. In any case, if Sanders is the QB, he'll be coming to Nashville with a lot more firepower in 2026.
The Titans are in the midst of their own retooling under a new head coach in Robert Saleh, but overlooking the Browns could be costly. Sanders has proven he can torch that team with the equivalent of one hand tied behind his back. This time around, he's coming with some heat.
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