Will Shedeur Sanders Start Week One for Cleveland? Odds Suggest Solid Chance

Posted on: April 28, 2025, 01:06h. 

Last updated on: April 29, 2025, 08:21h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More
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UPDATE: The Browns have declined to pick up Kenny Pickett’s fifth-year option. 

  • DraftKings is offering odds on whether Shedeur Sanders will start for the Cleveland Browns in Week 1
  • Sanders fell to the fifth round of the NFL Draft
  • Sanders is the son of Deion Sanders

Shedeur Sanders has never taken a snap in the NFL but the incoming rookie is already the most controversial player in the NFL.

Shedeur Sanders Cleveland Browns odds
Shedeur Sanders celebrates after being picked in the fifth round of the NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns. Sports bettors are making their bets on whether Sanders will be the Browns’ week one starter. (Image: X)

Sanders, a proclaimed top-five pick by his father and coach at Colorado, Deion Sanders, suffered a historic slide down the board during the three-day NFL Draft. After passing him over six times, the Cleveland Browns, a long-troubled organization in desperate need of a franchise quarterback, picked Sanders in the fifth round with the 144th pick.

The Sanders selection came two rounds after Cleveland surprisingly took QB Dillon Gabriel out of Oregon to backup veteran Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett, whom the team acquired in the offseason. Sanders’ fall from an expected first or second-round pick was rumored to be due to his helicopter father and rumblings that the 23-year-old showed little respect to team owners and GMs during predraft interviews.

As Sanders continued to be bypassed by the Browns and several other teams in critical need of a QB, Deion was heard poking fun at Cleveland and Flacco.

“Flacco my age!” the elder Sanders told his son, though Deion is 57 and Flacco is 40.

Browns Week 1 Starter

With Deshaun Watson sidelined through at least the opening weeks of the season, as his $230 million contract becomes more solidified among the worst deals in NFL history, DraftKings and other sportsbooks are offering odds on who will be the Browns’ opening day starter. At this juncture, bettors think Pickett is the favorite at -110 (implied odds of 52.38%).

Pickett won Super Bowl LIX in February with the Philadelphia Eagles as a backup to MVP Jalen Hurts. Pickett, a University of Pittsburgh grad, played for the Steelers before being traded across the Keystone State to Philly after Pittsburgh signed Russell Wilson and Pickett requested a trade.

After Pickett, DraftKings has Sanders as the Browns’ second-likeliest week-one starter at +175 (implied odds of 36.36%). Gabriel is third at +475 (17.39%), and Flacco is fourth at +1500 (6.25%). The Browns’ 2025 season will be unveiled on May 14.

By most NFL analyst accounts, Sanders has the skillset to be an NFL starter. But concerns about his personality and whether his flamboyant father will try to influence his career likely led to 31 teams not named the Browns passing on the two-year Colorado starter.

Despite going just 13-11 while leading the Buffaloes in the Big 12, Sanders prompted Colorado to retire his son’s No. 2  jersey.

Browns Bets 

Along with their week one starter, there are many preseason betting opportunities on all 32 teams, including the Browns. Despite an active NFL Draft in which Cleveland traded the second pick to the Jacksonville Jaguars, who picked Hunter, the Browns’ outlook for the 2025 season is grim.

The Browns have the longest Super Bowl odds at +20000, a distinction Cleveland shares with the New York Jets and New Orleans Saints. The Browns’ over/under for total wins is just 4.5, the lowest among the 32 NFL teams.