Shedeur Sanders sure has a steady following of fans, who have grown even more ardent in their support of the Cleveland Browns QB entering the 2026 season. Some of those fans have also been seen in the media, who constantly bat for him being the team’s QB1. One of them is Shedeur Sanders, who roped in mentions of the signal caller while covering the 2026 draft. There were so many of them that his co-hosts couldn’t help but make a joke of it.

While discussing the QB situation at the Pittsburgh Steelers, Kiper launched into a conversation about the biggest name who could take over for Aaron Rodgers.

“You got Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow in this division, you got Shedeur Sanders in this division as well,” the veteran host began. Then, he said, “Lou, stop laughing over there.”

Co-host Louis Riddick burst out laughing then, now that he was caught. This was yet another time the Shedeur fanboy in Kiper was seen, and Riddick didn’t hold back from pulling his leg.

“Rece’s face was like, ‘Here we go,” he said, still laughing. “How long did it take? A half hour? Not even!”

Kiper has been a Shedeur Sanders advocate since the 2025 draft. He called the NFL “clueless” when it comes to judging quarterbacks, because Sanders had slid to the fifth round. Ahead of the 2026 draft, the Browns were also heavily linked to Ty Simpson. But Kiper was against this projection, saying that the team already has a “better quarterback than Ty Simpson in Shedeur Sanders.”  Sometimes, he’s had to fight other hosts on the panel in his support for Shedeur Sanders.

Shedeur Sanders has, however, vindicated him in a big way. Despite his rocky debut and uncertain future at that time, the BQ ended up becoming a Pro-Bowler. Regardless of what one might think of Sanders, he impressed big time with his performance against the Tennessee Titans last year in Week 14. 364 passing yards and three touchdowns made the case for Kiper being angry about the slide.

But this year, there was one very shocking development that automatically brought the Shedeur Sanders parallel.

Mel Kiper talks Shedeur Sanders regarding Garrett Nussmeier’s draft slide

Sanders’ slip in the draft had to do with him allegedly bombing personal interviews with NFL execs. There was little chance he’d be a Round 1 pick, but experts had hoped for him to be off the board by the end of Day 2. But Sanders ended up going on Day 3. Like him, LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier also found himself in an unfortunate waiting game. He was presumed to be picked after Fernando Mendoza and Ty Simpson, who were off on Day 1. But Nussmeier was selected by the Chiefs as their 249th pick in the seventh round.

Mel Kiper (very) briefly touched upon Nussmeier’s medical concerns before he circled back to Shedeur Sanders.

“It’s the injury issue, it’s not what he is as a quarterback,” he said. “Had he been healthy through the process, he would have had a different kind of year. With Shedeur, it wasn’t about ability. It went beyond that. …went in the fifth round, look what happened. Turned out pretty well.

“He won the job; he’s the man… Now, all of a sudden, you look at Garrett Nussmeier. [He’d] do the same thing.”

The thing is, it’s easier to imagine Nussmeier becoming a solid QB despite being drafted so late, because he has those numbers.  convincing. Nussmeier threw for 4,052 yards and crossed the 300-yard mark eight times that season. Nussmeier dipped in 2025 because of being in pain every time he threw. Initially reported as an oblique injury, it was found that he had a cyst on his spine.

But Mel Kiper may be on to something here, regardless of how much some fans disagree with this take. In 2024, Shedeur Sanders threw for 4,134 yards and racked up 37 TDs. He had the help of Travis Hunter, of course, who was selected as the second overall pick in the 2025 draft. Only time will tell if the now-Chiefs QB is going to make a mark for himself in the depth chart, proving Kiper right yet again.