A Bold (Maybe Crazy) Prediction For 2025

Do you want to know why fantasy people love making bold predictions? Because we don’t have to answer for them if they don’t come true. “Hey man, I told you they were bold. I think I even said ‘maybe crazy’ in the headline!”

But there’s a little bit of truth in them. Conviction, even! And they’re fun in their dangerousness. Could Shedeur Sanders start 10 games for the Browns? Yes. Could he start 0? Also yes.

You know what? You all know what bold predictions are. Let’s just get into it.

Shedeur Sanders will start at least 10 games for the Browns and be a fantasy stud.

Two bold predictions wrapped into one!

Every draft analyst I love and respect had Sanders as their top QB in the 2025 draft. Thor had him as his No. 1 QB. Gene Clemons gave Sanders a slight edge. Emory Hunt took him first overall in our mock. And then, over three bizarro days, it got weird and Mel Kiper became a meme. ALL THESE PEOPLE CAN’T BE WRONG! Shedeur Sanders, despite the draft shenanigans, may be the best QB on the Browns’ roster.

Things don’t look great for Sanders at the moment, of course—especially if you check our projections page. Or if you follow Dwain McFarland on social media:

With any bold prediction, there’s a slight issue … or a few. Sanders is currently assumed to be behind Kenny Pickett, Joe Flacco, and Dillon Gabriel. Dwain has those Flacco stats that say the path is not very clear at all. But this is why we have to strike now! Once we see the (inevitable) “Shedeur Sanders is getting second-team reps” tweets from Ian Rapoport in a couple weeks, Sanders’ ROY odds drop from 40-1 to 18-1 and this all moves to “Milquetoast Prediction” territory—and who likes milquetoast predictions??

The Athletic’s Zac Jackson had this to say in his latest column: Dillon Gabriel is clearly third in line ahead of fellow rookie Shedeur Sanders for now.

Note the “for now”!!

Even Kevin Stefanski says the drill order will change in the coming week. In an earlier column, Jackson also noted that, “Sanders showed in the spring that he’s capable of throwing with touch and accuracy.” Keep an eye on Jackson’s columns, by the way—he’s usually spot on and his assumptions are very accurate.

So, where does this leave us? “The Oracle” Matthew Freedman has Sanders with 1,202 yards and 7 TDs for the season. But I’m thinking bigger.

My hunch is that Flacco starts a few games, the Browns go 1-2, and fans scream for change. Pickett comes in maybe the second half of Week 4 “to try and spark something.” Stefanski refuses to name a Week 5 London starter; it’s eventually Pickett. Somewhere in there, Pickett gets hurt (there will be a big controversy about the Tottenham Hotspur field, but that’s for another newsletter), and Flacco comes back in and is largely ineffective. London fans lustily boo Joe Flacco. Our hearts collectively break for him because we do love the guy. In the lead-up to Week 6, Zac Jackson reports that Shedeur Sanders may start. On Wednesday, they announce him as the starter. Lines shift, people go crazy. TV shows have days of debate. The Oracle quietly has a drink of an expensive bourbon he’s been holding on to and chuckles to himself.

In Week 6 against the Steelers, Sanders puts on a show: 300+ passing yards. The rapport he developed with Jamari Thrash when both practiced as backups results in a 10-target breakout game for the 24-year-old. Diontae Johnson gets 11 targets. Cleveland (the city) erupts in fandom, and the next week, at home against Miami, Sanders does it again. But this time it’s Harold Fannin Jr. breaking out, with 60 yards and 2 TDs.

Sanders’ card prices explode. His jersey is the second-best-selling in the NFL shop, behind a special-edition Caitlin Clark one the Colts made. Zac Jackson uncovers an NFL-wide conspiracy from the NFL Draft and wins a Pulitzer. Predictable “shock” hosts try hard to be contrarian and say these two games are flukes. The rest of the world embraces the lovable Sanders, who goes on to win OROY honors and makes the Pro Bowl.

Is this too far-fetched? No. Is it regular, far-fetched? Maybe. Am I really going to do that “answer my own question” thing twice in the same intro? Yes.

Do you agree? Disagree? I barely check Twitter, but our Head of Video, Matt Swing, is on it a lot and would love to hear from you. Hit him up @I_Am_MattSwing with your thoughts. Swear a little. It’ll confuse him because he’s on vacation and probably not reading this.

Quick note: Later in that first linked Zac Jackson column, he notes that Pierre Strong Jr. has been acting as the top RB with Jerome Ford out. Just something to file away for a rainy day!

And if you want to do your own Projection Cosplaying, there’s no better place to start than right here —>