Let’s get the important qualifiers out of the way first in order to satisfy the people who won’t want to hear what I have to suggest: Yes, Shedeur Sanders’ first NFL start, which went fairly well, took place against the Carolina Panthers’ defense—a unit that was historically bad a year ago and is now trotting out a vanilla, backup-laden iteration of itself.

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Yes, it took only two drives before Sanders did something we could consider, for a more experienced quarterback, ill-advised (though pales into comparison with some of the quarterback stupidity we saw during this opening weekend from far more higher-drafted and experienced players, or the fact that one of Sanders’ teammates and Carolina Panthers wideout Xavier Legette were kicked out of the game before most people got into their seats). 

Yes, I was once so enamored with former Browns quarterback Robert Griffin III in a preseason game that I thought the team could make a run at the playoffs (the 2016 Browns went 1-15).

With all that out of the way, here are five takeaways from Sanders’ debut, ranked from the most grandiose to the most minute. While I led the crusade to stop treating Sanders like he was a first-round pick, his first preseason performance had that kind of flavor. 

Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders gets away Panthers defensive tackle Jaden Crumedy during the second quarter.
Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders gets away from Panthers defensive tackle Jaden Crumedy during the second quarter. | Scott Kinser-The USAToday Network via Imagn Images

And, perhaps, this is what we should get out of the way first. It’s disappointing that however Sanders became a fifth-round pick—in some peoples’ minds, the arrogance and brashness and omnipresence of those around Sanders making it impossible to believe he could be a high-upside backup with little distraction, in others that Sanders was never going to go in the first or second round due to talent, in others’ still that Sanders represents a cultural blind spot for an NFL fan base that still doesn’t want to see this much confidence and self-assurance from a quarterback—I can’t help but think what may have been if this was just a kid coming out of Colorado with a parent who worked at a dental practice. Deion, who live-tweeted the performance while cloaked in hubris, obviously does not make conjuring the vision any easier. 

Try and put on that pair of goggles and re-watch what we saw from Friday night’s performance. If you were a fanbase or coaching staff that just drafted this person in the first or second round, would the response not be widely positive without a caveat? 

But I digress …

Most ridiculous

Am I wholly out of line to think that Friday night did not move me off a belief that maybe it’s not so unbelievable that Sanders should start some games this year? I’m not saying he should start the season. I’m not saying he is better than Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, Snoop Huntley, or, for that matter, Dillon Gabriel. But I am saying that we’ve seen passers unequivocally swallowed by the moment this weekend and in every preseason. Sanders, for the most part, got the ball out within the confines of the progression. He had one true overthrow by my count when his best players were in the game and another that broadcast color analyst Steve Smith correctly pointed out was on purpose (Sanders would have gotten his receiver demolished if he threw it where it was supposed to go—a needless venture in the NFL preseason). 

He also didn’t seem out of sorts in the backfield at all pre-snap, especially when more backups started entering the game. Another common occurrence when quarterbacks are trying to line up people who they just met at breakfast the day prior. 

Place that against the backdrop that the Browns will likely be the worst team in the division this year and, all of a sudden, you have a situation where it looks responsible to give him a runway heading into next season, where the Browns will be in position to draft another starter at the position. 

Second-most ridiculous

I was actually most impressed with Sanders’ decisive running ability. I normally loathe quarterback runs in the preseason, which teach us nothing and tend to mask a quarterback’s lack of overall understanding with what is happening. Quarterbacks who possess athleticism tend to run more often while the understanding of gameplay catches up to a point where a run is less effective than a pass. 

Attempted backfield evasions aside (we’ll get there), I thought Sanders’ three carries in the first half—two of which picked up first downs and one that went nine yards and set up the conversion—reminded me of something from Alex Smith or Teddy Bridgewater. It wasn’t running to quell a chaotic mind, it was running because he processed what was in front of him defensively and saw that it was the correct and most efficient decision. 

Third-most ridiculous

Sanders’ backfield movements under pressure are going to come back to haunt him, which makes the second preseason appearance all the more critical to see if he cuts it out. For those who haven’t seen it, here are both clips: 

It’s important to note that the first time Sanders was chased out of the backfield it was three Panthers starters—D.J. Wonnum, Chau Smith-Wade and Tershawn Wharton—running a cornerback blitz that pierced the lack of cohesion from Cleveland’s center and guard, neither of whom were starters (the entire interior of the Browns’ offensive line wasn’t on the field Friday). 

Still, this slow-motion Russell Wilson homage is something that Sanders could exclusively get away with in college and the NFL preseason. Oddly, it was similar to what developed in Baker Mayfield during the Freddie Kitchens era before he was placed into more common-sense systems that provided him with more instant options. 

Fourth-most ridiculous

Sanders’ second touchdown pass was even better than his first. 

For reference, here are both side by side: 

No. 1

No. 2

Both of the throws were made in a difficult, high-traffic area. The second, though, was in a place where only Kaden Davis was going to grab hold of it. The ball location was low and away, making it a perfectly understandable risk that places some of the playmaking onus on the receiver. 

We knew that Sanders’ accuracy was his biggest strength coming into the game but I didn’t expect it to be so on display. I thought Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports made a good point that I’ll parrot a bit: Tthe fact that Sanders played so long gave Cleveland a chance to play him in almost every conceivable situation. There was a back-against-the-goal line suite of plays, a 20 to 20 suite of plays and a goal to go suite of plays, along with some snaps with time dwindling in the first half. 

Least ridiculous

If nothing else, I think Friday was more evidence of how much more coveted collegiate snaps are going to become. When juxtaposed with Trey Lance or Anthony Richardson, both of whom have far more in the way of athletic skills, Sanders looked like he was on another level in terms of pure comfort (again, with all of the necessary qualifiers that I listed above). Bo Nix and Jayden Daniels both finishing their respective rookie seasons ahead of Caleb Williams also nudges you in that direction.

Of course, the issue with Sanders may be that this is his ceiling, or that he is awfully close to it while Williams and others have a much higher growth potential. Still, if Sanders keeps playing this way in the preseason and earns NFL starts this year, the demand for more experienced quarterbacks won’t die down. 

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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Breaking Down Shedeur Sanders’ NFL Preseason Debut From Most to Least Ridiculous.

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