- More good than bad: The fifth-round pick earned an 82.1 PFF overall grade for his debut, the eighth-best mark among all quarterbacks in preseason Week 1.
- Sanders has plenty to clean up: He will have to continue to work on eliminating his tendency to take sacks and scramble around like he’s an elite-level athlete.
- Data, tools and expert insights: Use code earlybird to save $20 on your PFF+ annual subscription.
Estimated Reading Time: 8 minutes
The most anticipated game of the opening weekend of preseason football was arguably Shedeur Sanders and the Cleveland Browns against the Carolina Panthers. Sanders was gifted an opportunity to showcase his talent due to injuries to Dillon Gabriel and Kenny Pickett, and the excitement was palpable. Even Nike seized the opportunity to highlight the fifth-round rookie quarterback with a well-timed advertisement.
All the extracurriculars aside, what matters is what happens on the field. And there is plenty to dissect from Sanders’ performance.
Overview
Overall, Sanders played well. It wasn’t a great performance, but he looked comfortable and made good decisions. There were a few plays he’d like back, but by no means were they disastrous or detrimental to the team.
🚨 GRADES ARE LIVE 🚨
— PFF (@PFF) August 9, 2025
Shedeur Sanders: 79.8 PFF grade vs the Panthers 🎯
Check out the grades from Friday's games here ⬇️
The Colorado product earned an 82.1 PFF overall grade and a 74.5 PFF passing grade, making two big-time throws and no turnover-worthy plays with a 9.1% uncatchable throw rate. His two biggest calling cards in college were his ability to protect the football and his accuracy, and that translated to his first NFL action.
Sanders was pressured on 40.7% of his dropbacks, a high rate in the NFL. In college, he often owned that pressure and took too many sacks. Of the 11 dropbacks where he faced pressure in preseason Week 1, he was charged with one sack.
As a runner, Sanders (78.9 PFF rushing grade) had two scrambles for 19 yards and two first downs, a quarterback sneak for a first down and a kneel-down. Rushing won’t be a big part of his game, but he has enough mobility to gain yards with his legs when needed.
The Good
When we talk about accuracy, it doesn’t get much better than this.
It doesn't get much better than this. Perfect ball placement into a tight window. pic.twitter.com/SdZ3odi8os
— John Kosko (@JohnKosko3) August 11, 2025
Wide-zone boot — a staple in the Kevin Stefanski offense. Sanders threads the needle for the touchdown. Anyone who watched Sanders in college knows that he’s capable of placing the ball exactly where he wants it. He’s been criticized for his arm strength, but he showcased plenty of zip here and also on his second touchdown pass of the night.
Sanders' ability to subtly manage and move in the pocket while standing tall amid oncoming pressure was an underrated part of his college game.
Another great play by Sanders. Under pressure, backed up, delivers a strike over the middle of the field. pic.twitter.com/kMXQcskdND
— John Kosko (@JohnKosko3) August 11, 2025
Here, he feels the pressure coming from his left and moves right in the pocket to buy himself time before delivering a strike over the middle of the field. In the NFL, the ability to feel where pressure is coming from and move in the pocket to avoid it is the difference between good and great. If Sanders can consistently showcase this, he’ll have a solid NFL career.
From scrambling for two first downs to delivering accurate balls to open receivers to being called for just one pre-snap penalty, the “good” from the game was plentiful.
The Bad
Although Sanders took two sacks, the first was for a loss of one yard in a third-and-long situation where no downfield options were open after he scrambled around for nearly 10 seconds. The difference between throwing the ball away and a one-yard loss on third-and-long is largely inconsequential.
There are still things for him to clean up in that regard, particularly taking sacks when the better play is on the field.
Where Sanders needs to improve. He recognized the blitz but hung on too long. He had options but took the sack. pic.twitter.com/3PBf6nMjMr
— John Kosko (@JohnKosko3) August 11, 2025
On third-and-7 at midfield, the Panthers show a two-high look pre-snap. Blitzing on third down is common practice in football, and most teams like to play man coverage behind the blitz. This is exactly what we get in this situation.
Sanders likely sees the blitz happening at the snap as his eyes pick up the safety, and he immediately drifts to the right. There are essentially two options for him on this play, neither of which involves a sack.
Option 1: Plant the foot and throw a go ball to No. 81 Chase Cota on the left. Sanders never even considered this option. Regardless of whether that player is a star or someone who was signed nine days prior, making sound decisions is part of the position. This would have been a good decision had he pulled the trigger.
Option 2: Since Sanders skipped Option 1 and decided to read out the trips side, he could have hit the dig route. Whatever you want to call the concept (bow with an alert to the seam or a variation on a dagger), this play is a high-low concept designed to hit the dig (or basic) route behind the hitch at the sticks. The play is there.
We just saw Sanders shift in the pocket to complete a similar route (and concept) when he was backed up in his endzone with pressure. Here, he has a free rusher to navigate. But instead of resetting his feet to make the throw, he continues to drift, forcing himself to make an off-platform pass with pressure coming. It's not an impossible play, but it's certainly tougher.
A Note on Accuracy
While Sanders' 9.1% uncatchable throw rate for the game was excellent, he didn't exactly display pinpoint accuracy all game. Several of his passes were on-target but off-frame, making his receivers adjust a bit more than is ideal. Some 36.4% of his targeted throws were what we deem to be “catchable inaccurate” — throws that are catchable but the receiver has to adjust high, low, behind or in front to make the grab. This is nothing to be concerned about at the moment, as Sanders logged a 15.2% clip in college.
Final Thoughts
If you’re a Cleveland Browns fan, you enjoyed Friday night. For a fanbase starving for a franchise quarterback, Sanders provides hope. How much one can reasonably expect from the 144th pick in the NFL draft is a different question, but what we saw on the field was multiple positive plays with a few negatives.
Sanders will need to eliminate his tendency to take sacks and scramble around like he’s an elite-level athlete, but when he plants his foot to deliver the ball, he has the talent to succeed in the NFL.
© 2026 PFF - all rights reserved.