Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders was ranked last among 35 quarterbacks in The Athletic's 2026 NFL quarterback tier list after surveys from 50 NFL executives and coaches. The verdict came from the people who run the machine, and they handed down a brutal little hierarchy with Sanders at the bottom.
One unnamed defensive coordinator said, "I’d sleep like a baby if I got to play him every week." Another executive said, "He’s inaccurate at all three levels. I can’t tell if he is going to get better, but there’s a huge gap between him and competent QB play." A third voice from the same club of decision-makers added, "He’s not an on-time player, can’t really read through the coverages, is a little bit heavy-footed. He is thicker and harder to tackle than expected, but you shouldn’t lose to him."
Who Gets Judged
Sanders had flashes of great play when he finally got a chance to start during his rookie season in 2025, but the ranking from 50 NFL executives and coaches flattened that into a last-place label. He was named the starter for the final six games of the Browns' 2025 season after winning his starting debut against the Las Vegas Raiders. He threw for 1,400 yards with seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions and completed 56.6% of his passes.
That’s the ledger. The numbers sit there while the league’s power brokers talk like they’re grading a product, not a person. Sanders now finds himself in another quarterback battle at Browns training camp with Deshaun Watson healthy and vying for the starting role in new head coach Todd Monken's offense.
Who Holds the Levers
Monken has said there will be a competition in his first Browns camp, with Sanders, Watson and Dillon Gabriel battling each other. The language is tidy, almost managerial. Competition. Battle. Reset. But the structure stays the same: a small circle of coaches and executives decides who gets the snaps, who gets the spotlight, and who gets shoved back into the pile.
One voter said, "Todd Monken is a great reset in the same way Ben Johnson was a great reset in Chicago. Shedeur gets a fresh start with a no-nonsense, offensive-oriented coach who did a really good job with Lamar Jackson." That voter added, "If Shedeur has really invested in himself to be a professional quarterback, studying the playbook and knowing his assignments and being able to get the offense in and out of the huddle at an efficient clip, which he could not do last year, then there might be some upside."
That’s the reform fantasy in miniature. A new coach, a fresh start, a better system, and maybe the same old hierarchy will suddenly become fair. The Browns are still a Browns camp, still a competition managed from above, still a place where the people at the top get to define competence after the fact.
What the Record Says
Watson ranked 31st among the 35 quarterbacks and did not play last season while recovering from an Achilles injury suffered in the 2024 campaign. The Browns will face the Bears in their first preseason game Aug. 15.
Sanders’ place in the rankings, the comments from executives and coaches, and the coming camp battle all point to the same setup: a franchise sorting quarterbacks through the judgments of insiders while the players at the bottom carry the consequences. Sanders got his chance in 2025. He won his starting debut against the Las Vegas Raiders. He also finished with 1,400 yards, seven touchdowns, 10 interceptions, and a 56.6% completion rate.
Now the next round begins. Another camp. Another competition. Another set of voices from above deciding who counts and who doesn’t.