LeBron James, Michael Irvin & NFL Icons Chime In to Shut Down Shedeur Sanders’ Haters

It’s all about Shedeur Sanders today. Between bringing that reaper prop pre-game to not inviting Coach Prime, to dropping an unexpectedly good performance, it’s been a heck of a ride for him. But the worst part? It was him being diffident after that game. “I don’t feel like I took full advantage of that opportunity; it’s something to work on, something to learn. I don’t feel like I was sharp, honestly, I was okay,” he said.

But while he’s out there being self-critical, the love is pouring in from around the world. The most influential athletes in the world are chiming in to back him up. Sanders is off on a ‘humility road,’ but ex-NFL stars and icons from around the world are shutting down those “it’s just preseason” nerds.

It was wholesome to see veteran voices piling up to praise the rookie. The first on the list? LeSean “Shady” McCoy, and it’s not surprising. The man has been hyping up Sanders all offseason, and he couldn’t hide his excitement, dropping that you “can’t hide a star” when he’s balling like that. And that’s not just some casual repost; that’s a former Pro Bowl back basically stamping the film and saying, “Yep, this kid’s the real deal.”

Add Michael Irvin to that list, who basically recorded pretty much every Sanders play on his TV and shared it on his Instagram stories. He called them “darts” and broke down the movement and timing like a proud uncle. He’s been backing him up ever since that draft night. “Thought he couldn’t scramble, couldn’t run like his dad,” he said. But let’s be honest, no one runs like his dad.

Oh, and it wasn’t just NFL veterans to the rescue either. LeBron James probably took the biggest shot at Shedeur’s haters. “And I don’t wanna hear that “It’s only preseason” bs. Cause if he was out there not going in y’all would be on his ass about it! So give credit and grace lames. 🤷🏾‍♂️,” he wrote on X. And if you’re caught up with Bron’s X activity, you’d know he doesn’t just hand out praise like that.

And then came the analytical stamp from Emmanuel Acho, who went full film-room mode. The man was breaking down Sanders’ debut play-by-play and saying it was the kind of tape you roll for the doubters just to “shush ’em up.” He even called it “1st-round stuff” in his post-game take. And the tape earned all this praise.

The praise was well-deserved, and the tape backs it

Yes, he’s been a 4th choice QB till now. And that still might not have changed. But he made one thing clear today: the upward climb to QB1 isn’t a lost cause. And in just one preseason half, he might’ve forced Kevin Stefanski to reconsider pretty much everything.

Shedeur Sanders went 14-of-23 for 138 yards, tossed two red-zone touchdowns, and lasted nearly three full quarters in his Browns debut. Add 19 rushing yards to that and zero turnovers. You don’t see that poise and production from a rookie too often. And he might’ve just made the Browns coaching room rethink the depth chart.

There were obviously a few rookie mistakes, but that’s expected. There were some timing slip-ups on intermediate throws, and one snap where the pressure got to him a bit too soon. He bailed into a scramble when an open target was sitting right there. The funny part? Shedeur Sanders brought those up himself afterwards. Nothing to worry about.

The good far outweighed the bad. Tight windows, short fields, and the heat to close out drives? He nailed them. Sanders worked the red zone like he owned it. There were no giveaways, no flinching, just solid, composed football. And when a rookie can be honest about what needs cleaning up while still cashing in for points, that’s the mix that makes a coach sit up in the film room and think, yeah… this kid’s got something we can build on.