Kendrick Perkins: Shedeur Sanders has ‘most star power for a rookie in Cleveland since LeBron’

While Shedeur Sanders’ NFL career presently consists of only one preseason game, ESPN NBA analyst Kendrick Perkins feels that Sanders is the biggest rookie star in Cleveland since LeBron James.

Injuries to other quarterbacks gave Sanders the chance to not only start for the Cleveland Browns in their preseason opener on Friday night but also play for more than half of the game. Perkins, like a lot of people, was impressed with Sanders’ performance — and rightly so. While it took a little while to get into the groove, Sanders finished the night 14-for-23, passing for 138 yards with two touchdowns and, perhaps most notably, no interceptions. He also showed impressive scrambling ability, running four times for 19 yards. One of his runs picked up a first down on third-and-nine.

Perkins heaped heavy praise on Sanders and, in the process, gave him a very lofty comparison.

“Shedeur got a preseason game feeling like a playoff opener,” Perkins said. “Like I said, most star power for a Rookie in Cleveland since Lebron!”

Shedeur got a preseason game feeling like a playoff opener. Like I said, most star power for a Rookie in Cleveland since Lebron!

— Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) August 8, 2025

While not all of them have worked out particularly well on the field, the Browns have had plenty of hyped rookies over the last 22 years. The two quarterbacks that most notably come to mind are Johnny Manziel and Baker Mayfield. And while Manziel didn’t pan out well, he came with a lot of hype. Also, roughly a year after James left for the first time, the Cleveland Cavaliers selected Kyrie Irving first overall. He definitely brought a lot of star power.

There’s no doubt that Sanders has a lot of star power, far more than any rookie fifth-round draft pick. That said, Perkins may be at least somewhat victimized by recency bias.