Shedeur Sanders plan 'backfires' as Browns warned of unprecedented problem

Former NFL running back LeSean McCoy has claimed that the Cleveland Browns' plan to humble Shedeur Sanders by selecting him in the fifth round has "backfired". Sanders, 23, was once tipped as a high first-round pick but saw his Draft stock plummet in the run-up to the selection process. However, after being picked 144th overall, Sanders has begun to assert his authority in minicamp and is now in the mix to become the Browns' starter.

The quarterback is competing against Dillon Gabriel, Kenny Pickett, Joe Flacco, and potentially a returning Deshaun Watson, who is recovering from an Achilles injury and is not expected to return until 2026. This gives Sanders a golden opportunity to snatch the starting spot for the long-term future.

McCoy believes the Browns drafted Sanders in the fifth round to teach him a lesson, but this plan has ultimately backfired, with the ex-Colorado quarterback already impressing ahead of fellow rookie Gabriel. "Because you drafted a first-round quarterback in the fifth round. That's the truth of it," McCoy said on .

"You try to teach him a lesson, now it backfired. Because the third-round quarterback, we try to be respectful. Chase, I'm respectful. I get it. You're a quarterback and all that, and I get all that. But we know he's [Gabriel] not better than Shedeur.

"We know what the team knows, the player knows. We know that. And we know that Shedeur is going to pass him real quick, right? But we got to do the steps.

"So let's get Gabriel out of the way because we're not going to talk about him like we did before the draft. Number two is, what the hell did a franchise say?"

McCoy lamented the unprecedented situation he feels the Browns have put themselves in, continuing: "The fifth-round quarterback, the starter, the starter, and then a guy we traded for, a young guy we traded for that was a future, that was a former first-rounder, they're going to split equal reps as a starter? When have we ever heard of that? Never heard of that.

"And you know why? Because it's never been a situation like this, where a first-round quarterback, you want to prove a point to him, make the kid humble, bow down, kiss the ring, right? And now you want him to play.

"That's what's going to happen. Because now you are in a room with quarterbacks that's not proven. Now you're in a room with fifth-round, third-round, fifth-round, fourth-round type talent quarterbacks in the room."

McCoy is convinced that Sanders will take charge as the Browns' leading quarterback, suggesting it could happen quickly once the 2025 NFL season gets underway. "And the best one is going to win it out. So I said it earlier before we even got to this point: 'Hey, I think Shedeur's going to start a little earlier.' Now, when the proof comes out because I heard you saying coaches lie," he added.

"What some coaches don't do, though? Coaches are not going to waste their time to address the media and the whole entire team about lying about a fifth- and third-round draft pick. Because really, for real talk, they don't really matter in the NFL.

"And now that we have the evidence that it's going to be an equal, fair playing field with Shedeur Sanders and all the other guys in that room, they're writing it on the wall, James. Number one. Number one."

This article first appeared on .