After the 2025 NFL draft was over, many thought that NFL teams had passed on Shedeur Sanders because of his brashness and overconfidence. Leading up to the Combine and the draft, he had been touted as a first-round talent, but shockingly, he fell all the way to the fifth round. Every team passed on him at some point, making it seem like his pre-draft interviews seriously hurt his stock.
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However, according to the Cleveland Browns players, Shedeur’s overconfidence isn’t a problem. It’s an asset. His teammates also say that the QB’s energy and poise set the tone for the entire offense.
As Sanders prepares to make his home debut against the San Francisco 49ers, the team clearly seems ready to go to battle with him at the helm.
“The Shedeur Sanders effect is real, and as he makes his home debut today, that brash confidence that sometimes makes him polarizing, his teammates told me, is his superpower, and they feed off of it,” NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe reported.
It may come as a shock to some franchises and front offices, but some players genuinely love to play for quarterbacks who are cocky and brash. After all, QB is arguably the hardest position in sports, so it’s only natural that they deserve to feel themselves from time to time.
Even defenders on the Browns team let Wolfe know that Shedeur is their boy.
“He’s built for this,” said defensive tackle Maliek Collins. “Shedeur is built for the pressure. He sounds just like his dad, but it’s natural. You saw that 50-yard completion last week? And Myles Garrett’s reaction, that’s all of us on defense. We’ve been waiting all year for this.”
The 52-yard bomb completion to Isaiah Bond was by far Shedeur’s biggest highlight on the day. It was so good that he left Myles Garrett speechless. Not to mention, it got the team rolling as they shot out to a 14-0 first-half lead.
Browns players tell me Shedeur Sanders brash confidence is his superpower & rave about impact of its infectious energy.
My @nflnetwork @NFLGameDay report from Browns locker room on the Shedeur effect: pic.twitter.com/Uc1aT06Ovx
— Cameron Wolfe (@CameronWolfe) November 30, 2025
All in all, it sounds like Shedeur has the full support of his guys behind him going into Sunday’s game. Fans must be excited, and it sounds like the players are, too. And how could you not be? As Wolfe said, the Shedeur effect is real. But only time will tell if he belongs in the NFL for the long haul.
