Colorado Buffaloes football legend Shedeur Sanders given exciting ‘long shot’ QB prediction by NFL insider originally appeared on The Sporting News

ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. thought Shedeur Sanders was the best quarterback available in the 2025 NFL Draft.

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Instead, he lasted until the fifth round and pick No. 144 overall, where the Cleveland Browns mercifully ended the draft slide of the QB whose number is retired by the Colorado Buffaloes football program.

But maybe, just maybe, there’s a chance Kiper was right.

His colleague at ESPN, Dan Graziano, wrote a new article Wednesday that broke down the quarterback futures for a dozen teams in the NFL.

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Graziano chose to share a most likely outcome and a long shot outcome for each squad.

The Browns, with their crowded QB room, were one of the teams Graziano focused on.

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And his longshot? Sanders is the first-round talent many believed him to be.

“It turns out Sanders should have been a first- or second-round pick all along,” Graziano writes of this outcome. “He advances quickly in practice in the early months of the season and finishes as the Browns’ starter. Cleveland feels good enough about him that they use those two first-round picks to build around him rather than replace him.”

For what it’s worth, this is what Graziano had to write for his most likely outcome:

“Who knows??? But there’s a really strong chance that Cleveland comes out of 2025 with more questions than answers about all of these guys and uses a 2026 first-round pick to try to get its quarterback situation right once and for all. Remember: The Browns also have the Jaguars’ first-round pick next year, giving them the juice to move up for the right QB if desired.”

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Cleveland definitely still has to solve the quarterback position.

The Browns will be starting 40-year old Joe Flacco in Week 1 this season. He’s certainly not the long-term solution.

But the roster also has Sanders, fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel, Kenny Pickett and an injured Deshaun Watson.

This saga is far from over, but maybe Sanders will still have his say.

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