Betting odds released on Shedeur Sanders to win Offensive Rookie of the Year

Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders became the biggest storyline of the NFL Draft. His slide to the fifth round was a shock to fans and analysts alike before the Cleveland Browns finally snagged him at 144th overall.

Despite that frustrating experience with the draft, Sanders still has his career ahead of him and players can have success regardless of what pick they’re taken with in the draft. Winning the starting job in Cleveland and potentially becoming a Rookie of the Year candidate. With that in mind, the folks in the desert have shared updated odds for Sanders to win that award.

According to DraftKings, Shedeur Sanders currently has +1900 odds to win Offensive Rookie of the Year. That’s the sixth best odds among any of the rookies in this year’s class, despite sliding to the fifth round of the NFL Draft. It’s also ahead of Dillon Gabriel, who the Cleveland Browns selected in the third round. For his part, Gabriel is listed at +4000 to win the Offensive Rookie of the Year.

The two players with the best odds to win the Offensive Rookie of the Year Award odds are, unsurprisingly, Ashton Jeanty and Cam Ward. Respectively, they’re listed at +200 and +230 for the award. Both were selected with two of the top six picks in the first round. They’re also both expected to play major roles on their team’s offenses from early in the season onward.

For his part, Shedeur Sanders is joining a crowded quarterback room. Along with Sanders and Gabriel, Cleveland returns Deshaun Watson and brought in Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett to round out the quarterback room this offseason. So, Sanders is going to need to win a battle for the job. That’s an opportunity general manager Andrew Berry says he’s going to have too.

“We expect every player to compete,” Berry said. “Simple as that.”

The Cleveland Browns need to find a spark on offense. In 2022, the Browns brought in Deshaun Watson on a five-year and $230 million contract that he’s struggled to consistently live up to. Last year, that culminated in a 3-14 season where four different quarterbacks started games. The Browns also finished 22nd in passing offense in the NFL, throwing for 206.2 yards per game.

Now, with four new quarterbacks to go along with Watson, the Browns are clearly looking to spark the offense. If Shedeur Sanders can prove to be that spark, then there’s no reason why he couldn’t end up being in award consideration by the end of the season.