Browns QB Shedeur Sanders' minicamp stats show who Cleveland's starter should be

Billy Heyen

Browns QB Shedeur Sanders' minicamp stats show who Cleveland's starter should be image

Shedeur Sanders has a long way to go in the Cleveland Browns' starting quarterback competition.

But if you went simply by statistics with no context, he's actually in the lead.

That's not the real case for a couple of reasons, given that it's just minicamp and that fewer of Sanders' reps came with the first-team groups on the field.

But his numbers, tracked during time OTA and minicamp practices were open to the media by ESPN Cleveland, are impressive.

Sanders completed 41-of-53 passes for nine touchdowns with just one interception.

Fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel was 48-for-83 with eight TDs and no picks.

Kenny Pickett went 38-for-63 with seven TDs, and Joe Flacco was 18-for-35 with two scores. Neither veteran threw an interception.

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Sanders completed 74 percent of his passes in his final college season at Colorado, and in situations with less pressure on him than a game would have, he was clearly dealing.

This doesn't automatically mean he's the best guy to take on first-string NFL defenses, but it's certainly just about the best case Sanders could make for himself given the circumstances.

Even if he's not starting Week 1, every good rep Sanders takes in the summer is one more reminder later on for the Browns coaches that turning to Sanders could work out for good in the end.

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Billy Heyen

Billy Heyen is a freelance writer with The Sporting News. He is a 2019 graduate of Syracuse University who has written about many sports and fantasy sports for The Sporting News. Sports reporting work has also appeared in a number of newspapers, including the Sandusky Register and Rochester Democrat & Chronicle