Shedeur Sanders is exactly who the Browns thought he was ... and that's not a bad thing

The tape is the tape -- and that's why Sanders is currently QB4

Shedeur Sanders had a forgettable Saturday afternoon against the Rams, a Week 3 preseason game that not only slammed shut the idea that Sanders should have always been in the mix for the starting job in Cleveland, but solidified the notion that he'll begin the regular season right where he began OTAs: as QB4 behind Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, and fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel. Dropback No. 1 (1st-and-10, CLE 40) : Sanders looks right, has the tight end on the stick route, hesitates and scrambles right leaving a clean pocket. Result: Finds the tight end for a 6-yard gain along the sideline on the scramble drill. Dropback No. 2 (3rd-and-4, CLE 46): All four Browns eligible downfield receivers are blanketed vs. man coverage, the ball should go to RB in the flat on the checkdown. Result: The ball doesn't come out at the top of the drop, LB closes on the checkdown option in the flat, Sanders leaves the pocket, scrambles left and goes out of bounds for a 1-yard loss, which is considered a sack. Dropback No. 3 (1st-and-10, CLE 15): Play-action and Sanders might have had the TE on the over route if the protection was better. Result: He comes off the over, steps up in the pocket, makes the right decision to get the ball to the RB on the shallow. Sanders is hit as he's throwing, the ball comes out high, goes off the RB's hands and falls incomplete. Dropback No. 4 (3rd-and-8, CLE 17): It's a three-man route -- all hitches at the first-down marker -- vs. man coverage and all three receivers are well covered. The TE and RB block before releasing into the flat to the left and right, respectively.  Result:  When Sanders gets to the top of his drop, it's as clean an NFL pocket as you'll see. All three downfield receivers are covered. The TE is open in the flat, and while he probably won't make the line to gain, that's where the ball should probably go. Instead, Sanders leaves the clean pocket, rolls right and overthrows the RB running down the sideline on the scramble drill.  Dropback No. 5  (2nd-and-9, CLE 36): It's a three-step drop and the ball comes out on time. Result: Sanders plays on time, gets the ball to the RB in the flat for a 1-yard gain. Dropback No. 6 (3rd-and-8, CLE 37): Without knowing the read, it looks like Sanders wants to throw to his No. 3 receiver running an in-breaking route vs. outside leverage before seeing the TE flash on the shallow route going from left to right and an intermediate in-breaking route from the No. 2 receiver behind that.  Result: Sanders feels the pressure from his left, and I'm not going to fault him for moving off his spot to the right but the ball has to come out quicker, either to the TE or the in-breaker from the No. 2 WR who was wide open. He gets strip-sacked and the Rams recover. (Look, I get it, it wouldn't have been an easy throw, but that's the point -- this is the NFL, and making those plays, those decisions, is what separates backups from starters.) Dropback No. 7 (1st-and-10, CLE 48): Under center, play-action to his right with the routes -- short, intermediate and deep -- going to his left. Result: The defensive end to Sanders' left is unblocked, immediately pressures him, Sanders does a nice job of spinning out of trouble but instead of throwing the ball away, he scrambles to the sidelines, runs out of bounds for a 2-yard loss and another sack. Dropback No. 8 (2nd-and-12, CLE 46): After playing mostly man, the Rams play zone, Sanders looks left, doesn't like what he sees, comes back to his right and the outside receiver is on an in-breaking route near the sticks. Result: As soon as Sanders' eyes get to the No. 1 WR on his right, he takes a hitch, moves back in the pocket, and then bails to avoid the rush. Things go from bad to worse and he takes sack No. 4, losing 24 yards. With the benefit of a time machine, Sanders could have stepped up in the pocket, and while it would've been tight quarters, he would have had a chance to hit that in-breaking route. Dropback No. 9 (1st-and-10, CLE 46): It's an empty formation and Sanders immediately looks to his left for his RB (lined up as the No. 1 receiver) who runs a stop route. He comes off that, then appears to see his TE on an option route running across the formation in his line of vision four yards from the line of scrimmage. Result: The pocket gets muddy quickly, Sanders tries to maneuver through the pressure and is sacked for the fifth time. He probably could have thrown the RB stop route and while it wouldn't have been an easy throw, Sanders had the TE on the shallow crosser though it likely would have required him to change his arm angle while also not being able to set his feet (but again, that's a garden-variety situation for an NFL QB). Dropback No. 10 (2nd-and-17, CLE 39): Three-step drop on 2nd-and-long. Result: Ball comes out on time, finds the TE on a hitch for 7 yards.  Dropback No. 11 (3rd-and-10, CLE 46): It's a mesh concept though Sanders appears to look first to his left at his No. 1 and No. 2 receivers running deeper routes. Result:  Sanders gets off that initial read quickly, seems to see the shallow route crossing into his field of vision but again instead of stepping up in the pocket and making the throw, he tries to scramble, does a good job of shedding two would-be tacklers, before missing his RB on a throw that probably could have been caught.

And that's OK. 

Because you don't need a phone full of league sources to tell you that the Browns preferred Gabriel to Sanders -- we all knew this because they drafted the Oregon QB in the third round, 50 picks before they selected Sanders two rounds later.