Shedeur Sanders has never been short on confidence, and a recent interview made clear that nothing about his journey through the NFL draft process or his first year in Cleveland has changed that. The Browns quarterback sat down and spoke openly about his mindset, his perspective on comparison, and exactly where he sees himself heading in this league. What came out of that conversation was one of the more revealing looks yet into how Sanders thinks about football and his own career.
Sanders laid out his ambitions and his philosophy on what drives him.
“Sometimes when not everybody has the same perspective and sees things how you see it, because you seeing success is a disconnect. That is where you lose in life: is comparison. When I compare my situation in life, or anything, or even in football, to somebody else, I would never be happy. The best thing I got out of everything is more tools I could use in life and understanding. I was able to understand a lot of things from a different point of view. I am not content just being on no team, you feel me? Like I am trying to get it right. I am trying to be one of the greatest. You got to be thankful, but no, it is still more,” Sanders said.
Sanders went through one of the most publicly scrutinized draft processes in recent memory, sliding further than most projections anticipated and landing in a situation where he was buried on the depth chart before working his way into game action.
The NFL is filled with players who had every physical tool needed to succeed and never got there because the mental side of the game caught up with them. Sanders is describing a belief in himself that protects against that failure.
The greatest quarterbacks in the history of this sport all believed they were capable of something special long before the league confirmed it. Just like Tom Brady always believed he was better than Drew Bledsoe, even as a backup QB. It is that mentality that drives players when everything around them suggests they should lower their expectations.
A player this hungry to prove himself is good news for Browns fans, as all eyes will be on him when training camp arrives.
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