Druski doesn’t need much to go viral. Put him in the right room, and the internet usually takes care of the rest. That’s exactly what happened this week, only this time the laugh wasn’t entirely on his terms.

Appearing on ESPN’s First Take on August 16, Druski wore a throwback Detroit Lions jersey honoring Hall of Fame running back Barry Sanders. Sitting alongside Stephen A. Smith and Monica McNutt, the wardrobe choice set up an unexpected exchange with McNutt.

“Alright, so the jersey. Let’s get into it. Because, obviously, this ties to one Shedeur Sanders who balled out in his first game,” McNutt said. Druski paused, then corrected her: “No, no, no. That’s Barry Sanders!” After a brief silence, McNutt replied, “That’s right. I’m sorry about that.”

The clip quickly made the rounds on social media. Woodward Sports Network shared the moment via Jordan Dahms on X, noting the Sanders mix-up with a caption that paved the way for a rather colourful comments section.

Because, of course, the internet had its fun. Barry Sanders and Shedeur Sanders have nothing in common beyond the last name. One is a Hall of Fame running back who walked away from the Lions in his prime more than 25 years ago. The other is a rookie quarterback still buried in Cleveland’s depth chart.

That’s exactly why the moment went viral. McNutt got roasted for the slip, and Shedeur got pulled into the kind of conversation that shows just how loud his name has already become. He hasn’t even played a regular-season down, but the fact that someone on live TV could plausibly confuse him with one of the greatest players in NFL history says plenty about the hype machine already building around him.

Shedeur Sanders’ debut clocked huge numbers

In his Cleveland Browns preseason debut against the Carolina Panthers, the rookie quarterback turned heads with a polished performance: completed 14 of 23 passes for 138 yards, threw two touchdowns without an interception, and added 19 rushing yards in the team’s 30–10 victory. And of course, he earned a fair share of applause throughout the country. LeBron James chimed in, and Deion Sanders was on cloud 9.

But something else also worked wonders for Shedeur that day. Viewership. As per the NFL Network itself, Shedeur’s debut averaged 2.237 million viewers, making it the most-watched preseason broadcast in nearly a decade. Druski was one of many celebrities enchanted by Shedeur’s game. “It’s crazy how they’re doing, my boy, man, honestly. I low-key love that he got this chance to play in this preseason game because it showed, like, y’all can doubt him and y’all can say all that stuff y’all saying about him. But what God got for the boy, can’t stop it.

But, fresh off a strong debut, Shedeur Sanders still landed at No. 4 on Cleveland’s unofficial depth chart for their second preseason game. But any chance to climb higher was sidelined by a new roadblock.

He was officially ruled ‘unlikely’ to play against the Eagles after suffering an oblique strain in practice just a few days prior. The injury not only stalled his momentum but also left him fighting to impress in his final preseason opportunity on August 23 against the Los Angeles Rams.