re: Shadeur Sanders finishes with the lowest average QBR in Browns history

Shedeur Sanders looked every bit a fifth-round pick to close out the season

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Thanks to an article from For The Win, we have an idea of what to expect from fifth-round rookie picks. These 10 men went on to have notable (not necessarily good) NFL careers, which include Spencer Rattler, Sam Howell, Mike White, Nathan Peterman, Brett Hundley, Josh Jonhson, Troy Smith, Dan Orlovsky, Mark Brunell, and Steve Grogan.

From them, we can extrapolate what an expected fifth-round quarterback can and should do as a rookie. Based on the 10 names in the aforementioned article, the average 5th-round rookie should expect to put up a completion percentage of 53.914%, with 597.9 yards for the season, 2.9 touchdowns, 4.6 interceptions, a win/loss record of 0.5 and two, while putting up a QB rating of 56.73 on the year.

Sanders finished with a percentage of 56.6%, with 1,400 yards, seven touchdowns, 11 interceptions, a win/loss of 3-4, and a rating of 68.1. So, against the average fifth-round starter, he's actually ahead of the curve. However, he put up very comparable numbers to those of the Saints' former starter, Rattler. Despite similar rookie years, Rattler isn't viewed as the face of the Saints' franchise in 2025.

That said, as a rookie, Rattler had a better percentage than Sanders (57%), fewer touchdowns (4), fewer interceptions (5), and a better quarterback rating (70.4). In fact, of the 11 quarterbacks, including Sanders, Sanders had only the fifth-best rating among the 5th-round picks we've discussed today. Some had far fewer opportunities than Sanders, but the overwhelming observation is that Sanders played as expected of a fifth-round pick.

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Sanders is right about where you'd expect a 5th round rookie. It's gonna be interesting to see how he develops and how the Browns (and his new coach) see him during the offseason.

Tyler Shough wasn’t a 1st round pick dipshit.