For better or worse, Shedeur Sanders received a lot of attention during his rookie season with the Cleveland Browns. Even before he played his first professional game, people were closely watching him.
Weeks later, when he did get the chance to play, he heard a slew of both negative and positive reviews. The fans say one thing, but NFL experts might say something else.
Chris Simms recently opened up about what he saw from Sanders during his rookie year, complimenting the young star while also touching on ways he can improve in his second campaign with Cleveland.
“I think the positives for me for Shedeur Sanders is I do think he has an NFL starting quarterback arm. It’s not a wow arm, but it’s plenty good to make all the big throws. We saw highlight-type throws. I think that’s the thing that surprised me, the physical backyard plays he made last year in the NFL. Shedeur, he’s definitely surprised me. He’s got very good short-area quickness to make people miss. He can run and get 10-12 yards. He will hang in the pocket and throw the ball under pressure,” Simms said.
Sanders didn’t go as high in the draft as expected, but the Browns obviously saw something special in him when they selected him in the fifth round. One of the things that impressed them was his accuracy. Throughout his rookie year, he showed off that accuracy on various deep passes.
The area that was most concerning for many people was holding the ball too long. Many felt he was too slow in making decisions and took too many sacks, which was a big concern from college.
The important thing to remember is that the Browns are much improved after their offseason moves. There is a good chance that the team around him will be even better in 2026, which means he will likely have more protection and won’t have to get rid of the ball so quickly. For many, Sanders’ rookie year showed that he has some raw skills that simply have to be refined.
His second season could be the chance to improve and develop those skills and reach his next level.
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