Cleveland Browns QB depth chart: Can Shedeur Sanders earn the starting job in competitive room with 5 stars?
The Cleveland Browns ended the Shedeur Sanders saga on Day 3 of the 2025 NFL draft. Sanders was selected in the fifth round with the No. 144 overall pick after being projected to be a top-five pick in months before the draft.
The AFC North team made multiple picks to address more urgent needs on the roster - starting with Michigan DT Mason Graham (No. 5), UCLA's Carson Schwesinger (No. 33), Ohio State RB Quinshon Judkins (No. 36), Bowling Green TE Harold Fannin Jr. (No. 67), Oregon QB Dillon Gabriel (No. 94) and Tennessee RB Dylan Sampson (No. 126) - before they went with Sanders.
After their busy offseason and draft, the Browns are set to start training camp with a five-man quarterback room. The mix between youth and experience could give Kevin Stefanski and his coaching staff many ways to utilize the quarterbacks, but at the end of the day, only five players will have playing time.
As a fifth-rounder, Shedeur Sanders won't have anything granted and will have to work hard to earn a spot on the roster and perhaps get some playing time in the offseason. This is a major "if," but it's time to see if the Colorado alum can beat the other four men in the room and become a Cleveland starter in 2025.
Cleveland Browns QB depth chart after selecting Shedeur Sanders in 2025 NFL Draft
After losing Jameis Winston in free agency and shipping Dorian Thompson-Robinson to the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for Kenny Pickett, the only quarterback left from the 2024 roster at Cleveland is Deshaun Watson, who is recovering from a season-ending injury.
Besides Pickett - who previously played for the Pittsburgh Steelers - the Browns reunited with Joe Flacco, one of the team's leaders who made the 2023 playoffs despite suffering multiple injuries.
Besides these three veterans, Dillon Gabriel joined the party on Friday, raising some eyebrows among people who thought the Browns would select Sanders way earlier.
Can Shedeur Sanders be the Cleveland Browns starting QB in 2025?
Even though Shedeur Sanders put on solid numbers in his last season with the Colorado Buffaloes (353 completions on 477 pass attempts for a 74 percent completion percentage, 4,134 passing yards and 37 touchdowns), it's hard to imagine Sanders would be thrown against the wolves so early in his career.
Out of the top three teams in the 2025 draft, the Tennessee Titans were the only squad that would make Sanders their Day 1 starter. The Browns and New York Giants had enough veterans in the room to mentor Sanders and make him way at least one year before he got first-team touches.
Shedeur's position on the draft doesn't necessarily mean he will be a backup or will have to wait five or 10 years before starting, but it's not crazy to say he will start his career as fourth or fifth in Kevin Stefanski's pecking order.