Shedeur Sanders captured the attention of the sports world with an impressive performance in his preseason NFL debut for the Cleveland Browns against the Carolina Panthers on Friday night. The rookie quarterback completed 14 of 23 passes for 138 yards and threw two touchdowns in the first half of Cleveland's 30-10 victory.
"That young 🤴🏾 looking good out there! Keep going UP!!! HEAD down on the grind and HEAD high to the most high," James wrote on social media, supporting the young quarterback.
James, a noted Browns fan with football background himself, didn't stop there, adding: "And I don't wanna hear that 'It's only preseason' bs. Cause if he was out there not going in y'all would be on his ass about it! So give credit and grace lames."
Interestingly, Sanders' journey to the NFL has been marked by unexpected challenges. Despite being a second-team All-American and winning the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm award in college, he surprisingly fell to the fifth round (144th overall) in April's NFL Draft—much lower than most reputable mock drafts that had him as a top-10 selection.
This draft-day slide resonated with Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green, who experienced similar circumstances when he dropped to the second round (35th pick) in the 2012 NBA Draft despite being a consensus first-team All-American and Big 10 Male Athlete of the Year.
"Love to see it Shedeur!! 🔥🔥🔥 some people just got it," Green wrote in his social media tribute to Sanders.
The Browns quarterback played the entire first half against Carolina, showing the skills that made him a standout prospect before his unexpected draft slide. Could this performance be the first step in Sanders proving the 31 NFL teams that passed on him wrong?
