Shedeur Sanders waited, watched, and now has to earn everything
After Sanders was -600 to be selected in the first round, he fell all the way to the fifth. Now, the 144th pick is the biggest story of the draft.
It was supposed to be a coronation. Since the start of the 2024 season, Shedeur Sanders wasn’t just projected to go early in the 2025 NFL Draft — he was marketed as a quarterback you build a franchise around. His name alone sparked debate, sold jerseys, and lit up social media. And yet, when the cameras started rolling in Green Bay, and commissioner Roger Goodell and co. strode to the podium night after night, Sanders sat. Waiting. Watching.
Until finally, at 2:19 p.m. Saturday on Day 3, the Cleveland Browns chose him. Pick No. 144 in the 5th round. It ended a free fall that no one would have dared predict just six months ago.
Now, the real story begins.
What happened?
There wasn’t one sole reason why Sanders fell. It was a slow bleed — a hundred small cuts behind the scenes — the kind of fall that happens when perception snowballs, and no one in the room wants to be the one to stick their neck out.
Supposedly, it was a myriad of things — a confluence of perception, politics, and old-school scouting stubbornness.
First, he skipped critical offseason checkpoints. Despite accepting an invitation to attend the East-West Shrine Bowl, he didn’t participate. He was also a non-participant at the NFL Combine. He gave no real chance for NFL teams to see him up close in a workout setting, save for his pro day and a private workout held for the New York Giants a week before the draft. He also refused visits with certain teams. His draft process was perhaps unlike any we’ll ever see from a quarterback again. Sanders gave teams very little to go on.
Second, there were whispers — true or not — about his interviews. Some teams came away believing Sanders was “cocky.” “Entitled.” “Disinterested.” NFL decision-makers, overwhelmingly old-school and uncomfortable with players who chart their own paths, didn’t exactly race to embrace Sanders’ brash confidence. Fair? Maybe. Or maybe not. That’s for you to decide. But the NFL has always been more comfortable with quarterbacks who nod politely and say “yes, sir” than ones who build empires before they take a snap. Sanders — the brand, the NIL star, and the nationwide celebrity — was a curveball.
And deep down, you have to wonder: if his last name wasn’t Sanders, would those same criticisms have even stuck?
Third, and perhaps most importantly, some just didn’t see a transcendent trait on tape. He’s accurate, sure. He’s poised. He’s productive. He’s tough as nails. But he isn’t a 4.4 runner. He doesn’t have the strongest arm. He doesn’t throw lasers off his back foot across his body. He’s not the athlete Cam Ward, Jaxson Dart, and Jalen Milroe are.
So, when the stakes were highest and when jobs were on the line, the NFL did what it always does when it feels a little unsure.
It passed.
Why the Browns finally pulled the trigger
It wasn’t out of desperation. It was about value — pure and simple. It didn’t matter that the Browns took Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel two rounds earlier, which, to contradict the value discussion for a second, seemed like a bit of a reach.
For months, Sanders was talked about as a sure-fire first-round pick. A potential franchise quarterback in waiting.
And yet, when he kept falling… when the fourth round ended… when the fifth round ticked by and Sanders was still on the board, the Browns made the kind of move smart organizations make: they bet on talent at a discount.
But make no mistake: this pick didn’t come without tension.
When the cameras cut to Cleveland’s draft room after Sanders was selected, the energy was noticeably flat. No roaring applause. No fist pumps. No standing ovations you sometimes see when a front office lands “their guy.”
Now, war room footage isn't always gospel — sometimes the NFL's TV timing is off. Sometimes reactions are muted for various reasons. But it's hard to ignore the possibility that this wasn't a unanimous decision.
Ownership involvement? You can’t rule it out.
Sanders brings a different kind of value, not just on the field, but in the marketing department, too. His name alone moves the needle. He’s a star who can generate attention, sell tickets, and fill seats in a town that’s been desperate for quarterback hope.
Whether it was the front office, the coaching staff, or Dee and Jimmy Haslam themselves pounding the table, it’s clear the Browns decided the upside was too tempting to pass up any longer.
There’s no risk here. No expectations. No pressure. Sanders doesn’t have to be the savior. He just has to compete. Cleveland saw an opportunity to grab a player with starting-caliber upside for pennies on the dollar. A quarterback room that was already crowded could afford to bring in another lottery ticket, especially one with Sanders’ pedigree.
What Sanders has to prove
Nothing will be handed to Sanders in Cleveland. But the Browns didn’t just bring him in to ride the bench, either. He’ll be dropped into a true quarterback competition, where survival isn’t promised and yesterday’s accomplishments mean nothing.
Sanders will enter a crowded quarterback room, competing with former first-round pick Kenny Pickett, who has a chip on his shoulder fresh off a year riding the bench in Philadelphia, and 40-year-old Joe Flacco, the ageless wonder who somehow keeps finding ways to win games. Also in the mix is fellow rookie Gabriel, the 5-foot-11 lefty who played a ton of college football, ending his six-year collegiate career in Eugene.
Sanders won’t be competing for marketing deals anymore. He’ll be competing for a job. A spot on the Browns’ 53-man roster.
On the field, Sanders must prove he can speed up his progressions, make good decisions, and get rid of the ball when there’s nowhere to go — something NFL scouts openly criticized during his Colorado tenure. Every single rep will be judged. And every missed opportunity will be ammunition for someone else to climb the depth chart over him.
In the locker room, he'll need to shed any perception of entitlement and earn respect through grinding quietly.
That’s what Sanders will have to embrace: real, ruthless competition. No one cares about his last name now. Every quarterback in that room wants what he wants.
It’s worth acknowledging that, after Sanders’ flaws were dissected on national television for all to formulate their own opinion on, he appears unfazed. He knows what he has to do. And it seems like he’s not shying away from it.
“I’m blessed,” Sanders said in an interview after he was drafted. “I know I have to clean up some things in my game. The main thing is proving [head coach Kevin] Stefanski and Mr. Berry right for picking me.”
His draft position isn’t the be-all and end-all. It’s actually just the beginning.
It’s now Sanders’ time to write his own story.