Shedeur Sanders had a shocking draft slide last April, falling from a projected first-round pick to the fifth round. It took the NFL world by storm, and draft analysts were miffed throughout the three-day event. Perhaps no one was more perplexed than ESPN’s draft analyst Mel Kiper.
Kiper had Sanders as the No. 1 quarterback on his board and one of his top overall selections. While Sanders did not have a stellar rookie season with the Cleveland Browns, he did more with less and gave the Browns a reason to believe he could be their future QB1. Kiper doubled down on his take earlier this week when discussing the upcoming draft, comparing the 2026 quarterback class, specifically Alabama’s Ty Simpson, to Sanders.
“The Browns don’t have to worry about Ty Simpson. They got a better quarterback in Shedeur Sanders than Ty Simpson,” Kiper said.
Kiper listed the teams he thought should look into Simpson, skipping over the Browns, which fellow draft analyst Field Yates felt was firmly in the “scout Ty Simpson” group of teams. Kiper was adamant that the Browns do not need to consider Simpson because they already have a better quarterback.
“Don’t go there,” Kiper said to Yates after he suggested the Browns are one of the teams that need to figure out Simpson.
The Kiper-Sanders love fest has been a storyline since last year’s draft, when Kiper was exasperated that Sanders fell out of the first round. His disbelief only grew with each passing round without Sanders being selected. Kiper is on the right track toward being proven completely right, especially if Sanders is named the Browns’ starting quarterback come Week 1.
Not everyone, if not the majority, shares Yates’ belief that the Browns do not have their future quarterback in Sanders and still need to select one either this year or next. No matter what happens when the Browns are on the clock in April, Sanders is set to receive a fair opportunity to win the starting job.
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