Besides the FV Triangle evaluation and young roster hope, rankings related to the Cleveland Browns are mostly negative, with questions surrounding HC Todd Monken and a lot of concern about the quarterback situation. National power rankings and betting lines all see the Browns near the bottom of the list.
The QB position continues to be the big concern. The Athletic’s Mike Sando put out his annual QB tier ranking, which saw both Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders in the lowest tier, with the latter
last overall. SB Nation’s quarterback data also had Sanders’ performance in 2025 at the bottom of the league.
Sando’s list had a quote on Sanders that stuck out as perhaps the most negative of any all offseason:
“‘I’d sleep like a baby if I got to play him every week”
The Athletic’s new Quarterback Index data point adds to the negativity thrown Sanders’ way. Much like ESPN’s QBR, QBI attempts to put quarterback play into the context of what is within his control and weed out the other factors:
QBI is a metric we’ve created that strips away the contributions from a quarterback’s 10 offensive teammates and credits only what the quarterback provides on a per-play basis. Again, it’s not perfect; no QB stats are. But the hope is that QBI provides a better picture of quarterback quality than the traditional stats (passing touchdowns, passing yards, completion rate) as well as the more advanced metrics (EPA and success rate).
With Joe Burrow (132) scored at the top and Matthew Stafford and Brock Purdy (125) right behind, we scroll down to 37th, again last, to find Sanders (47). Based on the QBI, Sanders’ 2025 season was about 40% worse than the next quarterbacks: JJ McCarthy (76), Tua Tagovailoa (78), and Cam Ward (78).
Whether the blame falls on Sanders, former Cleveland HC Kevin Stefanski, the lack of preparation in college, or some kind of bias, QBI attempts to pull away one of the variables that often gets used as a reason for Sanders’ poor rookie season – his supporting cast. With Watson set to start the season, many believe Sanders will get a chance with a different coach, with more NFL experience, and a better supporting cast. If he does, it will be interesting how QBI and the other rankings change for the young quarterback.
What do you think of QBI trying to pull Sanders’ performance away from what his supporting cast did and still coming up with a low score/ranking? What is your favorite QB-related data point/statistic?
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