Browns' Shedeur Sanders Receives Striking Comparison from Cleveland Legend
Browns' Shedeur Sanders Receives Striking Comparison from Cleveland Legend originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
Maybe the biggest storyline in the NFL this offseason is coming out of the AFC North, and it's not Aaron Rodgers in Pittsburgh.
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It's fifth-round draft pick, Shedeur Sanders in Cleveland.
The Browns' quarterback is in a serious competition with fellow draft pick, Dillon Gabriel, and two veterans, Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett, for the starting job in 2025.
Early in the offseason, it seemed like anyone but Sanders was the favorite, as he was often passed on for work with the first team in rookie camp, OTAs and mandatory minicamp.
But there are some who believe Sanders will eventually win the starting job over the other three, as unlikely as that sounds.
Former Browns legend Hanford Dixon is in that camp, as he discussed on The Hanford Dixon Show.
"This kid is going to be our starting quarterback and I'm just keeping my fingers crossed and hoping that he is the guy that we have been looking for," Dixon said. "We could be talking about him on the same level as [Lamar] Jackson and [Joe] Burrow, those guys in the AFC North.
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I wish I could share Dixon's optimism. I really do.
But I'm not sure we've seen enough from any of the quarterbacks in camp to label one as a favorite, much less one of the rookies.
Flacco has the most experience by far, not just in the NFL, but even with the Browns. Flacco subbed the final five games of the 2023 season after injuries to the other quarterbacks. Flacco went 4-1 and led the Browns to an unlikely playoff berth.
Sanders will have seemingly every opportunity as the other three to show he's the guy, but I don't know how someone could predict intelligently that it'll happen.
Related: Browns Cornerback Unhappy With Role in 2024
Related: 'No Worry' Over Browns' 2nd-Round Pick's Lack of Signed Contract
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 28, 2025, where it first appeared.

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