The Cleveland Browns surprised many by selecting Shedeur Sanders with their final fifth-round pick (No. 144) in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Sanders, once projected as a potential first-round selection, slid dramatically through the draft. Some mock drafts had even linked him to the Browns at No. 2 overall before his unexpected fall.
The selection came after Cleveland had already drafted Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel in the third round.
“Shedeur — we talk often about quarterback being the most important position in the sport,” Browns GM Andrew Berry said, per CBS Sports. “We felt like it wasn’t necessarily the plan going into the weekend to select two quarterbacks, but we do believe in best player available, we do believe in positional value, and we didn’t necessarily expect him to be available in the fifth round.”
Questions now surround whether Sanders can win the starting job or even make the 53-man roster.
Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio suggests the decision may ultimately rest with Browns owner Jimmy Haslam.
“If he wants Shedeur, he’ll likely get Shedeur,” Florio wrote. “Making him the starter will validate the organization’s decision to prioritize analytics over all other factors in adding to the roster a rookie who will complicate the broader dynamics of the establishment of a 53-man football team for 2025.”
Florio believes the Browns will likely begin the season with either Joe Flacco or Kenny Pickett starting, depending on the schedule.
Haslam could view Sanders as an opportunity to offset previous roster decisions. This includes the trade for Deshaun Watson, who isn’t expected to play this season after re-tearing his Achilles.
“Think of how San Francisco’s discovery of Brock Purdy with the last pick in the 2022 draft obscured the horrible decision they made a year earlier to trade up for Trey Lance,” Florio wrote. “If Sanders pans out, the Browns will have a significant counterbalance to the Watson fiasco.
“That’s the biggest consideration looming over all of this. The same team (owner) that stubbornly refused to admit failure as to the Watson trade (but finally has) could be desperate to fashion success from the drafting of Shedeur Sanders. And that could result in Sanders making it onto the field far sooner than later.”
