The likes of Mel Kiper and Todd McShay are pioneers of the mock-drafting practice and draft analysis in general. Doubt they knew they were spurring chaos in the sports realm. Draft analysis and all its iterations divide fans, stakeholders, and players alike into two factions. With some overlapping in the middle, sort of like a Venn diagram. Firstly, there are those who consider it a futile activity disassociated with reality. Then, those who consider certain people’s projections gospel and etched in fact. Finally, those who have no strong opinions take them on board but with a pinch of salt. After looking at one very important, clued-in mock draft, QB Shedeur Sanders will perhaps fall into category 1. 

You are a product of your environment. As labored as this cliché sounds, it rings true nonetheless. Especially for quarterbacks, let alone ones stepping in raw and malleable from the college level. Situations that a quarterback walks into can alter the trajectory of their careers. So when Shedeur Sanders comes off that draft board in April, he’d perhaps want to steer clear of certain franchises that are a bit of a dumpster fire right now. Well, as much as the conspiracy theorists will insist otherwise, he doesn’t have a choice in the matter. Even if a team in the toughest division in the NFL asks him to be a messiah with little to no help around him. Take the best in the sport, for instance.

Patrick Mahomes walked into a franchise with Andy Reid at the helm. He sat and learned the ropes behind Alex Smith, a former No. 1 overall pick and 3x Pro Bowler. The well-oiled machine in Kansas City aided Mahomes in being who he is today. But not every front office is good enough to facilitate a dynastic run. Not every ownership group is as shrewd in their decision-making. For every dynasty, you have a perennial bottom feeder. The consensus considers Shedeur Sanders is QB2 in this draft class, behind only Cam Ward. However, the overall quality of this QB class has been deemed relatively weak, meaning QB2 could even find himself out of the lottery. That said, PFSN—short for Pro Football & Sports Network—has him going #2 overall in their 7-round extensive mock. The franchise, though, is not the most attractive right now.

The Cleveland Browns, slated by PFSN to draft Shedeur, are in proverbial hell due to their cap situation. Current QB1 Deshaun Watson has far from reciprocated the value of his contract. The reasons range from injuries to controversies and everything in between. Despite restructuring Watson’s contract to open more money up in the short term, the Browns remain massively handicapped. So much so that the first few years of Shedeur Sanders’s career will be rendered almost futile. Apart from WR Jerry Jeudy, the Browns have somewhat substandard weapons on offense currently and won’t be able to add more in free agency owing to the financial situation. Plus, there’s an individual issue for Shedeur, too. 

Utilizing a QB’s rookie-scale contract is really important for a franchise to become a contender. The Browns are not in a situation to build a high-caliber offense around Shedeur for about 3-4 years. This will inadvertently hamper Sanders’ own performances. It could, in turn, reduce the chances of Shedeur getting paid big if his play is unproductive due to the lack of help. Not to mention, the AFC North already has two of the best QBs in the sport, offering direct competition. Oh, and their best player, Myles Garrett, is requesting a trade and wants out. All these factors, alongside the fact the Cleveland Browns have historically been underachievers, are why the Browns are a poisoned chalice.

Just this year, Jayden Daniels has shown you can indeed walk into a relatively poor situation and make it work. Shedeur Sanders has tons of talent and even more self-confidence. Shedeur’s won over both the eye test and analytics crowd around America. He was No. 1 in the country in completion rate. Alongside being 2nd in TDs thrown, 3rd in yardage through the air, and 5th in QB rating. To put that into perspective, no other quarterback is even in the top 10 of all four of those categories. Not even Cam Ward. Because he played behind a poor O-line in Colorado, you’d think Shedeur can navigate one in the NFL as a young, nifty QB too. This perfectly segues into another such QB in Anthony Richardson, whose career is transpiring into a bit of a case study in drafting.

Top Comment by Trdvg

Any franchise will almost certainly be defined by their QB. Teams may be shying away from SS for several reasons....more

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Shedeur Sanders prepares for life as QB1 in the NFL just as Anthony Richardson may be bidding it adieu

The Anthony Richardson experiment hasn’t quite gone to plan, has it? Picking a prospect as raw as him 3rd overall was a high-risk, high-reward maneuver. Richardson’s tangibles and physical attributes just haven’t been met with good quarterbacking. Alas, it’ll be premature to deem this pick a failure. He’s still younger than QBs in this draft class! However, the Colts aren’t too far away from contending for the playoffs. Some stable quarterback play could be what pushes them over the edge.

HC Shane Steichen concurs, and so does GM Chris Ballard. The latter explicitly said the franchise is open to drafting a quarterback to give AR competition at the Combine. Steichen didn’t push back, either. In the wake of this, reports of Richardson being on the trade block have spawned.

The “JPAFootball” page of X echoed to its 303k followers that “The #Colts have been shopping QB Anthony Richardson in trade talks but haven’t had much interest, per @uSTADIUM.” It’s not surprising that franchises aren’t clamoring for AR. You could make a rationale for drafting a fresh QB with a mid-round pick on Day 2 or 3 rather than taking on damaged goods. This is indeed how the Colts probably see things, too.

There are plenty of routes Indy could go down with drafting a signal-caller. A number of them are bunched up with round 2 or 3 grades. As aforementioned, Richardson is still very young. Maybe the Colts don’t even need to wave the white flag on AR. Iron sharpens iron. Getting a little healthy competition could be beneficial in their continued quest to find an Andrew Luck successor.

In the NFL, pass rushers are a lot quicker than at the college level. Shedeur Sanders’ athleticism will be neutralized in a massive way when he’s playing against grown men of the highest ilk. Anthony Richardson has witnessed that firsthand. This raises the prospect of even more sacks, which was an Achilles’ heel of Shedeur. Running around in the backfield trying to buy time is not translatable to that level. Shedeur Sanders will need to take the easy passes at times from inside the pocket. Dink and Dunk, if you may. With how he’s developed year on year, it shouldn’t be a problem to integrate that into his arsenal. It’s easier to hone a monster than make one, and Shedeur Sanders is a monster all right.