Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders didn’t play like an average fifth-round prospect in his preseason debut against the Carolina Panthers on Friday. He was probably the best quarterback on the field for either team in the contest, as he threw for a game-high 138 yards along with two passing touchdowns compared to zero interceptions.

However, the consensus view still seems to be that veteran Joe Flacco will be Cleveland’s starting quarterback to open the 2025 season.

Former NFL quarterback Kurt Benkert dropped a take on X in light of Sanders’ standout showing against Carolina and argued that people would be talking about Sanders as the clear-cut starting quarterback on the Browns had he been drafted in the first round.

If Shedeur was a top 30 draft pick we’d hear rumblings about him as the Clear QB1 for the Browns today but because he ended up a 5th round pick he only helped his chances of making the team.

The league man

— Kurt Benkert (@KurtBenkert) August 9, 2025

Plenty of people expected Sanders to hear his name called prior to the end of the first round of April’s draft after he was a force to be reckoned with during the 2024 college football season. He led the FBS in completion percentage (74.0) and ranked tops in the Big 12 in passing yards (4,134) and passing touchdowns (37).

However, the first round came and went without Sanders getting drafted, and so did the next three rounds. He had to wait until the third and final day of the draft to hear his name called. The Browns selected him with the No. 144 overall pick, taking him in the fifth round, and that decision from Cleveland has aged well up to this point.

Sanders is already off to a strong start in making the teams that passed on him in the draft eat crow, and his next opportunity to take the field for Cleveland in the preseason is right around the corner. Cleveland will take on the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles this coming Saturday.

Sanders will look to continue to strengthen his case to make the team as Cleveland’s preseason slate rolls on. The last preseason game the Browns will play before the 2025 campaign kicks off will be a bout against the Los Angeles Rams on Aug. 23.