Shedeur Sanders walked into rookie minicamp as the fifth-round quarterback nobody expected to shake things up. Fast-forward to OTA sessions, and coach Kevin Stefanski openly said depth charts won’t be finalized until late August—his wording was crystal, “If you’re on our roster, you’re competing for a role. We don’t have to set a depth chart till late August.”

Suddenly, a QB room that looked locked up is wide open, and everyone’s eyes are on the rookie dropping flawless throws in drills. Numbers don’t lie—Sanders delivered a ridiculous 77% completion rate and nine TDs over minicamp and OTAs, topping all QBs. Stefanski praised his work ethic. Showing up early, staying late, soaking it all in alongside Joe Flacco.

Now, buzz is heating up—not just talk. If he keeps this up, that QB1 spotlight might just land differently than anyone expected. And that means only one thing. The QB1 role, which seemed distant for Shedeur after the draft, is now calling him ahead of his rookie season.

NFL legend and former wide receiver James Jones shed light on Shedeur Sanders’ potential to start and made his expectations clear to the Browns‘ coaching staff. “If he steps into this preseason and he plays well and he looks like he’s been looking out here at practice and he looks like the Shedeur Sanders from Colorado, you have to start this young boy,” James said on The Facility.

When the Browns picked Shedeur in the fifth round, James was unsure of Sanders’ chances to lead the team’s offense. However, when the HC laid it out plainly and simply about the four-way QB competition, James was on board with the Browns’ decision to start with Shedeur. The reason was simple. Cleveland has yet to develop a franchise quarterback since their return to the NFL in 1999. It’s nearly three decades now.

And as per James Jones, Shedeur is the best one out there, talent-wise. “It is going to be so much pressure put on this organization,” he added. “It has been years and years and years since the Cleveland Browns has had a consistent good quarterback, and you sneak and get this one in the fifth round? I think if he shows that he could play with this open competition, the coach is telling us that they are happy. And I believe he’s the best one out there, talent-wise, from top to bottom. Put him out there. Week one, let him start and let him go through.”

The only catch? Well, Shedeur will have to perform in the preseason the way he did at Colorado. His last season at Colorado? Over 4,000 yards at a completion rate of 74.0, and 37 TDs. 9-4 record in 13 starts as well. Now, if we round that all up, the Browns have a crowded QB room, no doubt. The competition is going to be the toughest, no denying. And Shedeur will have to make his way through all this.

Shedeur Sanders was praised for his demeanor at the minicamp

Shedeur caught everyone’s attention at both the rookie minicamp and the OTAs. Fast forward to now, and as the Browns kicked off their mandatory minicamp, he’s been grabbing the spotlight with a strong performance, especially on day 2 of the minicamp. The 23-year-old quarterback was nearly flawless on day 2, and it only added fuel to the buzz about whether he’s actually in the running for that QB1 spot.

The former Colorado quarterback participated in seven-on-seven and 11-on-11 drills. According to ESPN Cleveland, Shedeur completed 8-of-9 passes with one touchdown. As for the rest of the quarterback room, let’s just say they had mixed results. The third-rounder, Dillon Gabriel, went 9-of-16 with two touchdowns. Flacco, the expected starter for now, completed just 3-of-7 passes with a touchdown. And Pickett? 6-of-11 with a touchdown.

After the wrap-up of day 2 of the minicamp, Coach Stefanski didn’t shy away from sharing his honest thoughts on the rookie quarterback. Stefanski appeared on the Cleveland Browns Daily podcast, where he was asked if he’d learned anything about Shedeur Sanders after watching him competing in the practice sessions. “I don’t know that we’ve learned anything new because, like you mentioned, we have a great feel for this young man,” the HC said.

“He’s a very, very hard worker; he has fun when he’s in the building. I’m enjoying watching him progress with every single meeting, with every single rep he’s doing a great job… He’s doing a really, really nice job. I think he’s showing up early, he’s staying late. He continues to get better every single day, and that’s the fun part.” That said, it’s safe to say that with each rep, each practice session, and ahead of the training camp and preseason, Shedeur Sanders is getting close to the starting role.