The Cleveland Browns are currently navigating one of the most crowded and scrutinized quarterback competitions in the NFL. Second-year QB Shedeur Sanders is fighting for the starting job against veteran Deshaun Watson, who has returned from a gruesome Achilles injury. However, there is one important trait with which Sanders seems to outshine the senior quarterback.

“[Shedeur Sanders] is tough as nails,” Mary Kay Cabot said on Orange and Brown Talk’s latest episode. “And not only is he hard to bring down, but he gets back up. He took some hard hits, and he gets back up, and he never lets them see him sweat. He really, really has that toughness about him, and I think that comes from Deion Sanders’ son.

“… I think that that is one of his assets—he can absorb a hit, and he can keep on going. There are times when I thought he’s gonna have to shake that off, and he’s just back for the next play. I was very impressed with the off-schedule plays that he made and with his ability to fearlessly stand in there when Max Crosby is about to drill you, and get the ball up, and you know you’re going to get hit. He just doesn’t flinch.”

This confidence comes from Sanders having experienced the heat of battle in his rookie year. He won three of his seven starts, recorded a 56.6% completion rate, and threw for 1,400 yards. Sanders also got sacked 23 times and was intercepted 10 times. He was operating in offense that seemed to give away regardless of which quarterback was in play, but he still brought home three crucial wins for the Browns.

“I don’t know if that surprised you, but that kind of surprised me a little bit that he was able to do that,” Cabot added of Sanders’ resilience. “[He] just really did not show signs of wear and tear in that regard.”

For now, Sanders needs to prove himself against Watson. The three-time Pro Bowler has the edge over Sanders with his experience. But the Year 2 quarterback has already

impressed the coaching staff with his progress through the offseason.

“I’m blown away,” Browns quarterbacks coach Mike Bajakian exclaimed. “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.”

Ideally, the QB1 battle should have been leaning towards Deshaun Watson by now. But Sanders has refused to let this happen, still keeping himself in contention for the job. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler also noted that Sanders has “a presence about him” that coaches had “underestimated” a little bit.

Cleveland’s QB1 fight is far from over.