Nick Wright is never short on strong quarterback opinions, and this week, Shedeur Sanders ended up in his crosshairs.
Wright recently compared the Browns’ rookie quarterback to Jacoby Brissett, suggesting Sanders profiles more as a long-term journeyman than a franchise cornerstone. It’s a take that feels especially premature given what Sanders just showed during his first NFL season in Cleveland.
“If Shedeur has Jacoby Brissett’s career, that is awesome… amazing value as a 5th round pick,” Wright wrote.
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Was his rookie year perfect? Not even close.
Sanders had his growing pains, and at times they were loud. There were a handful of head-scratching interceptions, some risky decisions late in games, and stretches where the speed of the NFL clearly caught up to him.
That’s what rookie quarterbacks do.
What also showed up, though, was the stuff you can’t teach.
Sanders played with poise well beyond his years. He didn’t fold when the pocket collapsed. He didn’t shrink after mistakes. He stood in against pressure, delivered throws knowing he was about to get hit, and kept the huddle together when the offense was sputtering.
He also flashed real upside.
There were multiple games where Sanders made throws that only a small percentage of quarterbacks in the league can make. Tight-window lasers on third down. Off-platform completions while rolling left. Touch passes over linebackers that dropped perfectly into stride. Those moments were not accidents.
Brissett, to his credit, has had a long and respectable career. He’s been a steady professional, a capable spot starter, and a good locker-room presence.
But his ceiling has always been known.
Sanders’ is not.
That’s why the comparison feels lazy.
One player is already defined. The other just finished chapter one.
The Browns didn’t draft Sanders to become “serviceable.” They drafted him because of the traits that give quarterbacks a chance to become special — confidence, toughness, leadership, and arm talent. You can clean up footwork. You can coach decision-making. You can simplify reads.
You can’t manufacture belief or command in a locker room.
Sanders already has that.
Calling him the next Brissett after one uneven but promising rookie season ignores the context entirely. It ignores the difficulty of what he walked into. It ignores the flashes. And it ignores the reality that development at quarterback takes patience.
If two or three years from now Sanders is still making the same mistakes, then the comparison might be fair.
Right now?
It’s early.
And more importantly, it’s underselling what the Browns might actually have on their hands.
NEXT: Deion Sanders Gets Honest About Shedeur's First Year In NFL
