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Browns have officially left Shedeur Sanders no excuse if he's the true QB1

Rucker Haringey
25/04/2026 00:37:00

No Browns quarterback managed to cover themselves in glory during the team's ugly 2025 season. The hope is that anyone that takes snaps for Cleveland in 2026 will benefit from significant roster turnover on the offensive side of the ball.

Shedeur Sanders would like to be the signal-caller who benefits from all of his front office's offensive investment during the early rounds of this year's NFL Draft.

Browns have been aggressive adding to the offense

The Browns started their work by selecting offensive lineman Spencer Fano with the No. 9 overall pick. That choice helped complete a total remake of an offensive line that made life very difficult on the team's cadre of quarterbacks last year. The team will give Fano a chance to stick at left tackle, but he comfortably profiles as an above-average starter on the interior if they need to go that route.

Cleveland leveraged another first-round pick to bring in KC Concepcion to give their wide receiver room a much-needed injection of juice. He should be an immediate starter for the Browns in the slot. The former Texas A&M standout should soak up plenty of targets as a rookie and the hope is he can use his run-after-catch skills to contribute explosive plays to the Browns' aerial attack.

The most surprising move of Cleveland's early draft work was their choice to double down on wide receiver by taking Denzel Boston with the No. 39 overall pick. The former Washington star is a much different pass-catching option than Concepcion. He'll look to use his big body to make contested catches on the outside opposite Jerry Jeudy.

Have the Browns done enough to help Shedeur Sanders?

Cleveland Browns QB Shedeur Sanders
Cleveland Browns QB Shedeur Sanders | Lisa Scalfaro / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

GM Andrew Berry and his staff went into the offseason with a clear understanding that they needed to overhaul their offensive personnel. The line, in particular, made it impossible for their quarterbacks to succeed last year. That front office failure was enough to earn Sanders another chance to entrench himself as the team's starting quarterback after a questionable rookie season.

At the very least, Cleveland has done enough this offseason through free agency and the draft to give Sanders a fighting chance to succeed. The jury is still out on his ability to be a quality NFL starter, but now the Browns have enough talent around their quarterback to make a fair evaluation of Sanders' skills.

The odds remain stacked against Sanders to succeed, but that's more about his talent level than what surrounds him on the depth chart. The upside for Cleveland is that now they have taken a major step towards building an offensive ecosystem that can properly support the team's next starting quarterback. That's a win for the franchise even if that player is not on the current roster.


by FanSided