The Cleveland Browns have given their fans reason for hope over the past few weeks, now that Shedeur Sanders has taken over at quarterback. He may be 1-2 in his three starts, but his ability to push the ball down the field has opened the offense up in ways that hadn’t been seen all season.
He has four difficult matchups down the stretch to close out the season, beginning with a Week 15 battle at the Chicago Bears, who lead the league with 18 interceptions. It will be a great test for the young quarterback to further convince his doubters that he can be the franchise QB this team needs.
Unfortunately, there are still plenty of media members who don’t believe in the rookie, including former NFL scout Daniel Kelly.
He shared that plenty of Sanders’ hype is unmerited based on a few different stats.
“There’s a lot of unmerited hype surrounding Shedeur Sanders right now…But what do the numbers say? Sanders has the second-lowest completion percentage in the NFL (52.4%). Sanders QBR 19.9 (it’s so low he’s not even listed on the QBR ESPN page with his quarterback peers). Sanders has the second-slowest time to throw in the NFL (Pro Football Focus: 3.42 seconds). He ranks No. 66 out of 67.”
There's a lot of unmerited hype surrounding Shedeur Sanders right now…
But what do the numbers say?
• Sanders has the second-lowest completion percentage in the NFL (52.4%)
• Sanders QBR 19.9 (it's so low he's not even listed on the QBR ESPN page with his quarterback… pic.twitter.com/4mCrCfLRAq
— FIRST ROUND MOCK (@firstroundmock) December 12, 2025
Sanders’ completion percentage is still enduring the major hit from his first half of play against the Baltimore Ravens, when he completed just four of his 16 passes, but he did leave a bit of meat on the bone last week with 19 incompletions against the Tennessee Titans. It’s not a major cause for concern yet, but it will be nice to see if he can take a step forward in this category down the stretch.
There’s no denying that Sanders has some work to do to improve upon some of his numbers, but he has mostly passed the eye test.
He has added an explosiveness to this offense that it didn’t have prior to him, and if he keeps improving, he’s going to force this front office to make some tough decisions this offseason.
NEXT: One Stat Highlights Big Concern For Browns In Bears Matchup
