Pat Shurmur coached the Browns for 2 seasons and worked with Shedeur Sanders, Travis Hunter at Colorado
With only a couple of moves reportedly completed early in the NFL offseason, the Cleveland Browns are not much different Tuesday afternoon, March 11th than they were when their season ended in January of this year. Trading for QB Kenny Pickett, signing DE Joe Tryon-Shoyinka and releasing two veterans doesn’t impact the Browns NFL draft plans at all.
Free agency is not over and trades could also happen but as of now, Cleveland seems to have five options with the second overall pick in this year’s draft:
- QB Cam Ward
- DE Abdul Carter
- QB Shedeur Sanders
- WR/CB Travis Hunter
- Trade down
Ward and Carter seem like the only two options to be selected as the top of the draft by the Tennessee Titans, leaving the Browns to potentially select between the two Colorado Buffaloes teammates and whoever is left between Carter and Ward. Former Cleveland HC Pat Shurmur, who was Sanders and Hunter’s offensive coordinator at Colorado this past year, has a simple answer for which Buffalo a team should select:
Colorado OC Pat Shurmur said he’s talked to all 32 NFL teams about Shedeur Sanders. What he tells them: “If you need a quarterback, draft Shedeur. If you don’t need a quarterback, take Travis (Hunter). As my daughter would say, it’s not that deep.” #cubuffs
— Brian Howell (@BrianHowell33) March 11, 2025
Taking Shurmur’s advice might be tough for Browns fans who remember his 9-23 record as the team’s head coach and 19-46 record as an NFL head coach over parts of five seasons. To be fair, Shurmur’s teams in Cleveland were quarterbacked by Colt McCoy and Brandon Weeden.
In two seasons, primarily under Shurmur as the offensive coordinator, Sanders threw for over 7,300 yards and set an FBS record with a career completion percentage of 71.8. Sanders threw 64 touchdowns and 13 interceptions in those two years.
Hunter, a starting cornerback, caught 153 passes for just under 2,000 yards in his two seasons with Shurmur and had an impressive 15 touchdowns during his Heisman Trophy season.
Do you think the Browns should follow Shurmur’s advice? Does his history with the team impact your thoughts on his Sanders/Hunter thoughts?
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