The Cleveland Browns took longer than many fans had hoped to finally hand Shedeur Sanders the key to the car, but since doing so, Sanders has looked better and better over his three starts. He is coming off his best performance against the Tennessee Titans, racking up nearly 400 yards of offense with four total touchdowns, and he’ll look to build on that performance at the Chicago Bears in Week 15.
Sanders’ slide all the way to the 144th pick shocked everyone watching the 2025 NFL Draft, but the Browns are thankful that he did. They may have had to cycle through a four-man quarterback competition to get to this point, but Sanders is now providing a light in a dark season and could certainly factor into the 2026 QB plans if he keeps improving.
Emmett Golden of ESPN Cleveland recently took it a step further.
He believes Sanders could even have some hardware waiting for him if he keeps this up.
“If he wins out, I think he is the Offensive Rookie of the Year. If he plays well and doesn’t win, I don’t think they would want to give the Browns, as bad as they’ve been, two Rookie of the Years.”
.@egoldie80 thinks that Shedeur Sanders could win the NFL offensive rookie of the year award if he ends the season strong.
Do you agree? pic.twitter.com/SzDV0keCYY
— ESPN Cleveland (@ESPNCleveland) December 11, 2025
The Browns likely aren’t going to win out. They just lost to the worst team in the league and have three playoff teams and Joe Burrow waiting for them over the next month.
Golden was referring to what is becoming the inevitability of Carson Schwesinger winning Defensive Rookie of the Year, and it’s tough to dispute that. Schwesinger has been a revelation at middle linebacker and has looked every bit like a foundational future star since the day he showed up to camp.
Sanders likely won’t win Offensive Rookie of the Year, and that’s okay.
All that matters is that he continues improving and puts pressure on this front office to force them into making some difficult decisions this offseason.
NEXT: Browns Sign Safety To Practice Squad
