As Shedeur Sanders prepares for the second season of his NFL career, a harsh warning has emerged suggesting his path forward may be far steeper than many fans expect. After putting in some good work in the offseason, Sanders could get the nod to become the franchise quarterback of the Cleveland Browns. Yet, when the question about his long-term success in the league comes into the picture, former NFL scout Daniel Kelly doesn’t appear hopeful.

“As a former NFL Scout— Shedeur Sanders is not going to develop in the NFL,” wrote Kelly on X. “Why? He has a hesitation that’s ingrained in him. I wrote about it his pre-draft scouting report. The NFL is too fast for him.”

The former New York Jets scout’s assessment isn’t random. He gave a complete breakdown, along with statistics of Shedeur Sanders’ performance. However, the primary concern centers on the 24-year-old’s ability to react quickly in a situation where the opposition is charging him.

Last year, Sanders reportedly recorded the slowest time to throw (3.24 seconds) among the signal callers in the NFL. Along with that, the 24-year-old also suffered the most sacks among the quarterbacks representing the Browns in the 2025 season. Sanders recorded 23, while Dillon Gabriel and Joe Flacco suffered 19 and 9 sacks, respectively. So, the issue is quite alarming.

However, Daniel Kelly has been vocal about it even before the Browns picked Sanders in the 2025 NFL draft.

“Couldn’t speed up his process when necessary (BYU). Prone to fumbling snaps… Limited trust in receivers (48.1% of completions went to two targets. Eats sacks (356 yards lost). Hesitation is ingrained in him. Needs to make sure the receiver is going to be open before releasing,” wrote Kelly in January 2025.

During his collegiate career, Sanders represented Colorado and Jackson State for two years each. Playing for Jackson State in 2021 and 2022, the promising QB averaged 2.94 and 2.74 seconds of release time. Meanwhile, during his time at Colorado from 2023 to 2024, he averaged 2.89 and 3.00 seconds. That habit of slow release has clearly continued in the NFL as well.

Considering that, will Sanders be able to match or come close to one of the league standards set by the Steelers’ Aaron Rodgers, who averaged the fastest release and throwing time last season at 2.67 seconds? Only time will tell. However, Kelly is unsure about the uncertainty in the future of the 24-year-old in the NFL.

“This isn’t going away,” Kelly added. “He’s not going to suddenly be able to start getting the ball out of his hand fast enough. That’s not how he sees the game. That’s not how he processes the game; that’s not who he is. The only thing that’s happened to Sanders is he’s become progressively slower processing and slower getting the ball out of his hand when he’s been moved up to higher levels of competition.”

As things stand, Shedeur Sanders is competing against veteran Deshaun Watson to become the Browns’ QB1 for the 2026 season. Though veteran Watson held the initial edge due to experience, Sanders has rapidly closed the gap during mandatory minicamp and OTAs. However, the Browns haven’t made the final decision yet.