Head coach Todd Monken declined to name the Cleveland Browns‘ starting quarterback following mandatory minicamp. That means the competition in Berea will continue into training camp, with the team likely deciding on its starter before the preseason begins. But based on how things are unfolding, Shedeur Sanders appears to have found his footing ahead of his second NFL season, as he has impressed quarterbacks coach Mike Bajakian with his ability to read defenses.

“I’m blown away. I think Shedeur has a really good vision of the field, and he’ll say things in practice sometimes, where I’d be like, ‘What did you get there?’ Or I see something on the field that doesn’t resonate with me, and then when I go back to watch it on video, he might be thrown a deep post versus post safety look in what is maybe a jog-through type of tempo,” Bajakian said. “But then sure enough, I see that the post safety sat on the crosser and gave a post over the top, so they can throw the ball. His vision, his work ethic, has been good to see.”

Heading into the 2025 NFL draft, a comprehensive report by Chris Pflum (primary NFL Draft writer and part of the BBV Radio podcast crew) noted that Sanders’ biggest strengths are pre-snap recognition, reading defensive coverages, and football IQ, rather than elite physical traits. Many also reported that on most plays, the 24-year-old accurately diagnosed the defense in the pre-snap phase. And now, he has managed to impress his QB coach as well.

However, his rookie season was a different story. After starting the season as a third-stringer, Shedeur Sanders surely got the opportunity to start. But the struggles were still there. He finished the season with 1400 yards, 7 touchdowns, and 10 picks. On top of that, he averaged 3.24 seconds to throw the ball, while taking 23 sacks throughout his rookie season.

Still, the quarterback is turning heads this offseason, as he is now expected to win the quarterback battle against Deshaun Watson. While it’s true that Watson outperformed Sanders in the OTAs and the mandatory minicamp, the veteran went 90-for-133 with 13 touchdowns and three interceptions, while Sanders recorded 79-for-113 with five touchdowns and three interceptions. The latter has reportedly made better progress this offseason as he also split first-team reps with Watson during the OTAs and minicamp.

“Shedeur has had a very nice camp. He has progressed so much in terms of his pre and post-snap process, his ability to get through his reads, and his progressions, process information, and get the ball out quickly. He’s done a very good job with that. And he’s been in the building constantly, and really, I think he made a big leap since his rookie year,” said Nathan Zegura.

Meanwhile, Coach Bajakian has been a fan of Shedeur all season long, as he was already praising the quarterback during his performance in the OTAs and how he came prepared even before the team had a chance to sit down together and get through the drills.

“I’d say the past nine weeks, he’s done a great job of defining his footwork, playing with a base, learning the offense, working his butt off to really master his craft, and it’s been fun to watch,” Bajakian said. “He’s done a really good job. He’s getting through progressions and getting through progressions faster, and his feet are matching that mindset.

“He’s an extremely fast processor, a very smart guy, and he’s been working his butt off. The amount of preparation he put in before we even were able to get our hands on him, in phase one, he came in, and we started talking about schemes and concepts and techniques, and he would refer back to the Baltimore video and refer to things that Lamar (Jackson) was doing. It was obvious to us that before we had even got him on campus here, that he had done a lot of work of video work and things like that are pretty cool.”

Earlier, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler also noted that Watson “went into the spring as the clear favorite, and then Shedeur Sanders has bridged the gap at least somewhat.”

That said, Shedeur Sanders has currently been linked to trade rumors. But for now, that scenario doesn’t seem to have materialized at this point, at least not before the training camp. For now, though, the quarterback competition in Cleveland is still going on, and Todd Monken has yet to decide who will start come this Week 1.