The Cleveland Browns stunned the football world when they passed on quarterback Sheduer Sanders to draft former Oregon standout Dillon Gabriel in the third round.

Just two rounds later, the Browns shocked the football world once again when they traded up for Sanders in the fifth round. The two former college football stars are competing with veteran Joe Flacco and former first-round pick Kenny Pickett for the starting quarterback job while Deshaun Watson nurses a torn Achilles.

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While the Browns have been relatively quiet regarding their quarterback competition, head coach Kevin Stefanski finally opened up on the son of NFL legend Deion Sanders.

“Shedeur is a great kid. Whether it’s a following that he’s earned, he’s done a great job of interacting with fans. But he is a great, great kid. He’s working like crazy, just like all the guys. You know these rookies, my office is downstairs – they gotta walk by my office when the come in and they come in early.” Stefanski told ESPN Cleveland. “Shedeur, just like the other guys, he’s in there early. He’s getting his work done. So he’s working really, really hard. Yeah, I like everything there is about Shedeur.”

Gabriel, the Browns third-round pick, is embracing the quarterback competition.

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“I love it,” Gabriel said Saturday before the Browns’ second rookie minicamp practice. “I love it because of who it is. I think just for us both, you can learn from one another, but also it’s not just us two in the room. At least for right now it is. But going into the year, Kenny [Pickett], Joe [Flacco] and even Deshaun [Watson], just a bunch of guys who played a bunch of ball that we can all learn from one another.”

Sanders, meanwhile, believes he’s only in a battle with himself.

“It’s just me versus me,” Sanders said. “I can’t control any other decision besides that. So I just try to be my best self at all times. … My job here isn’t to prove people wrong. I’m proving myself right.”

Cleveland opens the 2025 season against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sept. 7.

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Browns Coach Makes His Thoughts on Shedeur Sanders Very Clear first appeared on Men’s Journal on May 23, 2025