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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
Sport
Andrew Lawrence

Can a nepo baby be an underdog? The remarkable rise of Shedeur Sanders

Shedeur Sanders has played better than many expected so far in his short NFL career.
Shedeur Sanders has played better than many expected so far in his short NFL career. Photograph: Chris Unger/Getty Images

It seems the goalposts are always moving on Shedeur Sanders, the Cleveland Browns’ rookie quarterback who keeps throwing people off.

He excelled at two colleges to establish himself as a top NFL prospect, only to wind up getting picked in the fifth round of this year’s NFL draft in one of the most dramatic stock crashes in league history. He then distinguished himself in training camp, only to wind up as the back-up to the back-up. When Sanders was finally pressed into injury relief duty last month and led the Browns to just their third win of the season, the caveat was that his breakthrough had come at the expense of the even-worse Las Vegas Raiders. Last week against the struggling Tennessee Titans, Sanders became the first Browns quarterback to throw for more than 300 yards and three touchdowns and rush for another score in the same game since 1950. But for many, the bigger headline was that he lost. Again.

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