Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders has made five starts so far and has two more against the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals to finish out the season. After throwing five picks over the last two games, he is in dire need of a big finish to the season to put more pressure on the front office to make him the starting quarterback in 2026.
He has had a lot of ups and downs as the starter, but his ability to extend plays and make things happen deep down the field has been enough to convince the powers that be to start him at least through the end of the season. It is clear that Sanders has real ability, and he has to factor into this team’s plan at QB one way or another because of it.
Another impressive aspect of Sanders’ performance has been his ability to produce despite the injuries and underperformance of the offensive line. Multiple starters in the trenches are out, which is why Sanders is facing a tremendous amount of pressure, according to a Pro Football Reference graphic shared by Roberto Shenanigans on X.
“This perfectly illustrates why I want to see Shedeur Sanders in 2026 with a rebuilt line (and some WRs) How do you fairly evaluate a QB when he’s getting pressured this much more than every other QB in the league?”
This perfectly illustrates why I want to see Shedeur Sanders in 2026 with a rebuilt line (and some WRs) 👇
How do you fairly evaluate a QB when he's getting pressured this much more than every other QB in the league? https://t.co/kzwGBSriMk
— Roberto Shenanigans (@Rob_Shenanigans) December 26, 2025
It’s absurd that Sanders is facing pressure on over 40 percent of his snaps while nobody else in the league faces even a 30 percent pressure rate. It’s also impressive that he has posted one of the best pressure-to-sack ratios in the league despite having defenders in his face nearly half the time.
Sanders had a bad offensive line in college and got sacked far more than fans would have liked, though he has shown what appears to be a slightly improved ability to avoid getting taken down. He isn’t the most athletic quarterback and won’t consistently beat teams with his legs, but he has done a decent enough job at extending plays to avoid taking bad sacks.
If Sanders has done enough to convince this front office to use both first-round picks in 2026 to help build around him instead of replacing him, it would be interesting to see what sort of production he could put forth next season. A rookie left tackle and another receiver would go a long way toward that goal.
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