2025 Fantasy Football: Can Shedeur Sanders Leapfrog Dillon Gabriel?

Shedeur Sanders slipped to the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft, but his college production and upside could make him a factor in Cleveland's uncertain QB room.

Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders (12) throws a pass during rookie minicamp at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus. | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

After racking up over 11,000 passing yards and 104 touchdowns across Jackson State and Colorado, Shedeur Sanders brings proven production and confidence to the NFL. Though the Cleveland Browns drafted him later than expected, Sanders could emerge as a legitimate option in Cleveland if he can outperform third-rounder Dillon Gabriel in training camp.

Shedeur Sanders, Cleveland Browns

Sanders began his college career at Jackson State, where he compiled a 23-3 record over two seasons, accumulating 6,963 passing yards with 70 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. He ran the ball 188 times with nine scores on the ground, but his rushing yards (156) ranked lower than expected due to college football treating a sack as a loss for a quarterback's rushing attempt. 

The transition to Colorado and Division I football in 2023 presented a learning curve, as evidenced by a 4-7 record, 3,230 passing yards, and 27 touchdowns while minimizing the damage in interceptions (3). 

Last year, Sanders went 9-4 with an exceptional completion rate (74.0). He passed for 4,134 yards with 37 touchdowns (school record) and 10 interceptions. Over his two seasons with the Buffaloes, he was sacked 94 times (42 in 2024) while scoring eight rushing touchdowns. Sanders ran the ball 211 times in 2023 and 2024, but he lost 127 yards (sacks yards lost included). 

There’s no dismissing the success and stats of Sanders, but he had many highlight plays where he threw the ball in tight coverage, and his receiver made a winning play to secure the catch. WR Travis Hunter won the Heisman Trophy last season, accounting for 32.2% of his completions, 30.4% of his passing yards, and 40.5% of his passing touchdowns.

Sanders is another pocket passer who can extend plays with his legs and make first downs on the ground. His arm strength trails that of the best NFL quarterbacks. When dropping back to throw, he isn’t always ready to fire, creating some lag time in his release and potentially leading to mistakes under duress. 

At the next level, Sanders won’t have the liberty to air the ball out deep downfield due to tighter coverage and a shorter passing window. He must learn to take what the defense gives him and wait for favorable one-on-one matchups on the outside.

"He has such incredible fan support that if he isn't given opportunities, the Browns are going to hear about that," - @TonyGrossi on the Shedeur Sanders impact on training camp this year.

Do you agree? pic.twitter.com/vkCtX0RIKO

— ESPN Cleveland (@ESPNCleveland) June 18, 2025

Shedeur Sanders Fantasy Football Outlook

The Browns need an upgrade at quarterback, as Deshaun Watson has proven that the luster in his game was left in Houston. Cleveland added Sanders in the fifth round of this year’s draft, which was well below his expected value. His first obstacle is outplaying Dillon Gabriel in training camp.