A Lot of Haters Are Going to Be Eating Some, Tony Rizzo Says Shedeur Sanders Is Being Dismissed Far Too Easily

Shedeur Sanders’ numbers may not wow everyone, but Tony Rizzo believes the criticism has gone too far.

Aakash Chatterjee
April 9, 2026
4 min read

A Lot of Haters Are Going to Be Eating Some, Tony Rizzo Says Shedeur Sanders Is Being Dismissed Far Too Easily — © Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images

Tony Rizzo reignited the Shedeur Sanders debate by forcefully defending the Browns quarterback and calling out what he sees as growing disrespect around the former Colorado star. Rizzo argued that Sanders’ critics are too focused on the wrong things. He pointed to the young quarterback’s 3-4 finish in seven starts and dismissed the obsession with efficiency metrics, framing Sanders’ late-season run as more meaningful than the raw numbers suggest.

In Cleveland, quarterback debates rarely stay on the whiteboard. They often become identity tests, referendum votes and, eventually, arguments about whether wins should outweigh ugly efficiency. Rizzo was not merely arguing for patience with a young quarterback. He was challenging the framework many critics have used to judge Sanders ever since his stunning draft slide, his uneven rookie season and his abrupt emergence as a real factor in the Browns’ 2026 quarterback competition.

Sanders was the 144th pick in the 2025 draft, yet he still started the Browns’ final seven games, went 3-4 in those starts and later landed a Pro Bowl Games replacement nod. Meanwhile, Cleveland has moved into a new era under head coach Todd Monken, with the quarterback room still unsettled and the offense still under construction.

Sanders’ raw numbers were shaky. His Total QBR was near the bottom of the league. But the Browns’ own recent actions suggest they still see possibility rather than closure. Head coach Todd Monken has said offseason reps will not be divided evenly, and Cleveland’s front office has left the door open for a competition shaped by performance, not draft status.

1. The Shedeur Sanders Hype Train Can’t Be Stopped

Rizzo’s comments cut straight to the emotional center of the Shedeur Sanders debate. He said “I just can’t get over the way people are overlooking Shedeur Sanders. Shedeur is in a good spot. We’re going to find out about Shedeur. And there is a lot of haters out there that I think are going to be eating some—but that’s okay. We’ve all been right and we’ve all been wrong.”

2. The Shocking NFL Draft Slide That Made Shedeur Sanders the Most Dismissed Quarterback

The “overlooking” did not begin in Cleveland. It began in Green Bay during the 2025 draft. The Associated Press (AP) described it as an “excruciating slide,” one that turned Sanders into the center of a national conversation about football, celebrity, race and the scrutiny that came with carrying the Sanders name. That fall changed the way Sanders was discussed from that moment forward. Before the draft, he was being called the top quarterback in the class, praising his arm talent, timing, touch and anticipation. After the draft, the perspective changed. Cleveland acquired a discounted project, and even that came after the Browns had already selected Dillon Gabriel earlier in the draft. The team did significant predraft work on Sanders, but did not view him as worthy of the No. 2 pick they originally held. Only when he kept falling did general manager Andrew Berry decide the value had become too strong to ignore. Sanders entered the league with a strange combination of hype and institutional caution. He was famous enough to dominate the discourse, but drafted late enough to invite dismissal. He arrived as a major college star and the label of a Day 3 developmental quarterback. Those two realities have coexisted uneasily ever since. Even Sanders seemed to understand that contradiction from the start. According to ESPN, his own response was clear: “I’m a Sanders, so it’s always going to be expectations regardless of what pick I am.”

3. Did Shedeur Sanders’ Rookie Season Silence the Critics or Fuel Them?

Sanders’ 2025 raw season line was modest. 56.6% completions, 1,400 passing yards, seven touchdown passes, 10 interceptions, 169 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown across the final seven starts. Later, he was named a Pro Bowl Games replacement, a development surprising enough that even Sanders admitted he had not expected it. The problem for Sanders is that his critics are not inventing their case.That’s because he displayed the very issues that tend to sour evaluators on young passers, i.e., poor decisions, interceptions and a tendency to hold the ball in search of a bigger play. Those flaws are the exact habits that can stall a quarterback’s climb from intriguing to trustworthy. Still, Sanders showed an ability to push the ball downfield, turn possible sacks into positive plays and improve week to week. Kevin Stefanski said late in the season that Sanders had been diligent about the weekly points of emphasis and that the goal was to keep building while finishing strong. Quarterbacks do get judged on wins and losses, and Sanders did help Cleveland close after beginning his NFL life fourth on the depth chart. But wins alone cannot settle the case, especially when the Browns’ offensive environment was unstable and the quarterback room itself was shaped by injury, coaching transition and shifting opportunity. Sanders’ record helps him. However, his efficiency still trails behind the case his supporters want to make.