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What can Shedeur Sanders do for the Browns offense that Deshaun Watson couldn't?
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- What can Shedeur Sanders do for the Browns offense that Deshaun Watson couldn't?
The Cleveland Browns are turning back to Shedeur Sanders. Not by choice, but out of necessity.
Deshaun Watson, the quarterback once accused of more than 20 counts of sexual misconduct and what an NFL investigation called "predatory behavior," has entered the concussion protocol after leaving, then returning to, Week 8's game against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first quarter. That puts a temporary halt to his rise back to the league's 20th-best passer for a Cleveland team that unexpectedly led the AFC North after seven weeks and currently sits at 5-3.
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Watson's injury likely means the first start of the season for Sanders . The former Big 12 Player of the Year plummeted down draft boards and wasn't even the first quarterback the Browns selected in 2025. He eventually worked up the depth chart and was the only Cleveland passer to win more than a single game in last year's 5-12 campaign. He was expected to join the starting lineup at some point this fall due to a combination of Watson's underwhelming play in the past and his tone deaf comments about local fans .
Does this mean those fans should be worried about a backslide after a strong start? Let's look at the good and bad of a Sanders return.
What Sanders does that can spark the Browns offense
Aug 15, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders (2) passes the ball againnst the Chicago Bears during the second half at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images
Sanders is willing to take risks downfield more often than Watson; his 7.1 air yards per target in 2025 were better than the veteran's 6.7 through eight games of 2026 . He was also slightly more successful with his deep throws; he completed 32 percent of attempts that traveled at least 20 yards downfield against Watson's 28.6. With a steady diet of deep drops and play-action, he can find time to show off a potent arm.
The 2026 Browns have significantly better weapons than last year's version. Denzel Boston has emerged as arguably the best pass-catcher in his rookie class. He's been an asset on deep posts and explosive plays. KC Concepcion remains a shifty short-range target who can create massive gains with the ball in his hands. Harold Fannin Jr. has another year of NFL experience under his belt, as do tailbacks Quinshon Judkins and Dylan Sampson -- even if they're trapped behind an inconsistent offensive line .
He's also a much more viable scrambler who racked up 8.0 yards per carry and 44 rushing yards over expected (RYOE) in only 21 opportunities. Watson, comparatively, averaged 4.3 per run to open 2026 and has negative-1 RYOE.
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What Sanders does that can sink Cleveland's resurgence
There's a more technical breakdown than "run backwards," but that's at the heart of many of Sanders' issues. When faced with pressure, he's prone to ignoring checkdowns and leaning into hero plays. It worked against Big 12 defenses at Colorado. It's much less effective in the NFL.
Sanders got sacked on about 9.8 percent of his dropbacks as a rookie. He lost more than seven yards per sack. He ranked 35th among NFL quarterbacks in passes attempted and 23rd in sack yards lost . Things, as you might expect, get worse on obvious passing downs.
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He processes slowly, then as pressure bears down he tries to buy time in a way that worked against Iowa State but not against the Chicago Bears. Those Bears got to him five times in Week 15 last year , all on either third or fourth down. Four of those snuffed out potential scoring drives or go-for-it situations for an offense approaching midfield.
Sanders failed to grasp the starting role in the preseason, even as Watson struggled. His game tape is... not great.
While he has some juice lobbing bombs, his work in the intermediate range was gruesome as a rookie. He completed only 42.9 percent of his throws that traveled between 10 and 19 yards -- significantly worse than Watson's 59.5 percent completion rate on similar throws this fall. The average distance of his catchable passes was only 3.1 yards downfield in 2025 which, well, could be great news for Dylan Sampson's fantasy owners and not much else.
The best case scenario is he's allowed to damn the torpedoes with deep throws. At the same time, he'll have to display a better understanding of when to throw the ball away or take a sack five yards behind the line of scrimmage rather than turn that into a 15-yard loss. The worst case scenario is Sanders makes Watson's sack issues -- he had eight in two different games the last four weeks! -- look quaint by comparison, then wings inaccurate passers in a panicked attempt to play catch up.
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The film and data suggest we'll wind up closer to the latter than the former. Then again, the 2026 Cleveland Browns have been all about surprises.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: What can Shedeur Sanders do for the Browns offense that Deshaun Watson couldn't?
