The Opening Drive 11/22: Shedeur Sanders' First Start Expectations - Just Earn The Opportunity To Start More Games
The only hurdle Sanders needs to clear in his first start, is the one that earns him a second.
After weeks of ineffective quarterback play and an offense that has lost all its rhythm, Shedeur Sanders will make his first NFL start on Sunday against the Raiders. This game provides the first real opportunity to begin evaluating Sanders ability to compete at the NFL level, especially after the Browns have signaled that he wasn’t ready to play until now. However, with Dillon Gabriel in concussion protocol, the team has no choice but to turn the offense over to their fifth-round rookie quarterback from Colorado.
To understand what to expect on Sunday, it’s essential to start with his college performance. Sanders was a poised, accurate, and confident quarterback who excelled at Colorado, even while playing behind a poor offensive line. However, he enters this situation with clear areas for improvement that he must address immediately if he hopes to succeed behind Cleveland’s struggling offensive line and against a Raiders defense that will be quick to challenge him.
Sanders earned his reputation at Colorado by implementing a modern passing game influenced by the NFL, which suited him perfectly. Pat Shurmur’s offense utilized a shotgun-based spread, but it went beyond the simplistic look-and-throw style often found in college football. Instead, it incorporated professional concepts, used motion to reveal defensive coverages, applied spacing principles to create leverage advantages, and featured a consistent array of timing-based throws. Sanders effectively managed all of this at the college level.
What set him apart from most college quarterbacks was his accuracy and touch. He consistently placed the ball precisely where it needed to be, often on back-shoulder throws, on timing routes across the middle, and on far-hash outs that many quarterbacks wouldn’t even attempt. He trusted his read, relied on his arm, and delivered the pass with a solid amount of NFL-style reads and throw types.
He accomplished all of this while being the most-hit quarterback in the country. Colorado’s offensive line was among the worst in the Power Five, yet Sanders never lost his composure. He endured significant punishment, maintained his throwing mechanics, and continued to compete, even while under constant pressure.
The downside of Sanders’ competitiveness is that he often waits too long for perfection. During his college career, he frequently held onto the ball, seeking the ideal window, angle, and timing. As a result, he was sacked 55 times in 2023, the highest number in the nation. While part of this was due to poor protection, it was also because Sanders was unwilling to give up on plays or held onto the ball trying to process things when quicker tempo was needed. In the NFL, especially behind Cleveland’s current injury-riddled offensive line, this tendency can be dangerous.
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Against a Raiders defense that will no doubt try to dial up pressure and disguise their intentions, he has to speed up. Antonio Pierce isn’t going to give a rookie clean pictures. Sanders must identify pressure more quickly, diagnose rotations in the moment, and accept throwaways rather than trying to create something out of nothing. He will also need to take ownership of his bad habits and stop drifting backwards when he feels pressure around him.
Another adjustment will be the spacing. Colorado’s offense created natural breathing room for its receivers through stack formations and wide splits. The NFL compresses those windows, and Sanders will have to get comfortable throwing receivers open instead of waiting for separation. He has shown the ability to be accurate in college, but can he move up in the pocket, keeping his eyes downfield, and get the ball out on time? He has to adjust to the speed and timing of the NFL.
The Browns will not ask Sanders to be something he isn’t. With only eight career snaps under center in college, Kevin Stefanski and Tommy Rees should build the game plan around shotgun formations, quick-game concepts, screens, and motion-based reads that help Sanders see the field cleanly. A tightly scripted opening drive designed to get him into rhythm immediately would be ideal. Completing some short throws to Malachi Corley and Jerry Jeudy, facilitated by a few simplified half-field reads, would help him and his receivers settle in.
Once the script ends, he’ll be tested as Maxx Crosby will get his shots at a depleted Browns line, and the Raiders will certainly throw blitzes and simulated pressures at a rookie playing in his first start. Sanders will take hits, it’s unavoidable, some because he is holding the ball too long, and he’ll have moments where the speed of an NFL defense catches him off guard.
Yet even in that, we are hoping to see some of the flashes that made him a serious NFL prospect in the eyes of some evaluators. Sanders has a knack for delivering big-time throws down the field, something the Browns have failed to do all season.
So, what should our expectations be? This won’t be a polished performance. Rookie debuts rarely are. But Sanders’ first start isn’t about delivering fireworks; it’s about showing signs...the poise, the accuracy, the competitiveness, the confidence. We want to see the strengths that defined him at Colorado, but also expect to see the weaknesses he must iron out at the NFL level. Regardless, it will be intriguing and should inject the Browns with some energy.
The Bottom Line
Sunday marks the beginning of his evaluation, and even if the result is messy, it’s fine. His career won’t be defined on Sunday. However, the reality is that he will have to put together an improbable stretch of football to move the Browns off taking a quarterback with their first draft pick next season. Neither Gabriel nor Sanders is likely the Browns’ long-term answer. Gabriel hasn’t shown enough to deter the Browns from drafting their future signal caller in the 2026 draft, and Sanders is at best a long shot to do it, but the most significant victory Sanders can achieve on Sunday is playing well enough to convince the Browns staff to keep him in the starting role when Gabriel comes out of concussion protocol. Earning more starts gives him more time to prove what he can do, and I don’t believe Stefanski is guaranteed to give him that chance without a showing that earns that opportunity on Sunday.
Browns Film Breakdown will return soon with some fresh prospect study.
Antonio pierce?