With Deshaun Watson still recovering from his shoulder injury, head coach Kevin Stefanski has a tough choice to make on his starting quarterback. With Kenny Pickett, Joe Flacco, Dillon Gabriel, and Shedeur Sanders all available for the prized position, there is a logjam of QBs in the room. While HC Stefanski is yet to figure out the “odd man” from his four available QBs, one recent update confirms the Brown QB room is now a three-horse race, including Shedeur Sanders.

Earlier this year, Stefanski almost confirmed who he would start under center, saying, “Kenny Pickett’s a guy that I believe in” as starting QB. But ever since the Browns have drafted Sanders and Gabriel, there is hardly any communication from about starting QB from the head coach. However, the former Buffs QB, who just denied any beef with fellow rookie Gabriel, is well aware of his NFL future in Cleveland.

Right now, Sanders has the monumental task of winning the Browns’ starting role under center. Given that he is the 4th active QB on the roster. It would be up to Sanders’ mentality and hard work to outshine his competitors. Otherwise, that momentary jubilation of finally getting a chance in the NFL could turn into a nightmare pretty soon. Sanders, of course, knows he ain’t just competing with his fellow rookie QB Dillon Gabriel; there are also two other veteran QBs, one of whom once won the Comeback Player of the Year here, Joe Flacco, and another, an ex-first-round pick, Pickett.

So, there’s obviously competition, which is one of the hurdles Sanders has to overcome. Beyond the competition, however, is the question of whether Sanders can make that sweet transition from college football to the NFL. Of course, both are completely different sets of challenges. That’s why, even after three days of rookie minicamp, Sanders said, “I’m not sure,” when asked whether he was ready yet. He wanted to emphasize the fact that he hadn’t had real game action yet. “I haven’t played a snap yet. I’m excited to see myself,” Sanders said to SportsCasting.

Well, you can easily guess that Sanders’ focus right now lies in improving himself. His dad, Deion Sanders, has advised him to continue working hard without thinking about anything else. And to be honest, the 57-year-old’s advice is paying dividends. Sanders has been a standout in the Browns’ rookie minicamp while making his head coach regret a decision of his.

Shedeur Sanders’ early shine proves Kevin Stefanski wrong

See, before picking Sanders in the fifth round, the Browns took Dillon Gabriel in the third round. At that time, it looked like a huge surprise given that Sanders was still available. But after the Browns picked Gabriel, no one really thought they would come back again for a QB. So, the moment they used their 144th pick on Sanders, their decision to invest in Gabriel before was heavily scrutinized. Like, if they really planned on taking Sanders, why was Gabriel selected ahead of him? Well, whatever Stefanski may have seen in the former Oregon QB, Sanders ensured he proved every bit wrong.

Cleveland insider Brad Stainbrook offered some intel behind Sanders and Gabriel’s competition in the rookie minicamp. “Shedeur Sanders looked sharper than Dillon Gabriel.” Make no mistake, that was just the first day of rookie minicamp. Later, Stainbrook offered more updates on this rookie duel. “Shedeur Sanders remained on the practice field for about 20 minutes after each rookie mini camp practice concluded to get extra reps in with offensive skill players,” Stainbrook added. That’s just Sanders trying to show Stefanski that he is the most dedicated rookie here, not the other one.

Now, one week earlier, as per NFL Rookie Watch, Gabriel is not even in the shadows of Sanders: “Several sources with boots on the ground in Berea believe it wasn’t even close in terms of the competition between Sanders and Dillon Gabriel at rookie minicamp. Sanders reportedly had people’s jaws on the ground while Gabriel had people’s head in their hands after several plays.” The report also concluded that Sanders is fighting for the QB1 spot, not with Gabriel but against Flacco instead.

This only proves how big of a mistake Stefanski made by drafting Gabriel. Clearly, the Ducks’ QB ain’t ready for the NFL just yet. Though Sanders may also have the same opinion, he would surely help the Browns more than Gabriel through his incredible poise and precision throws.