Shedeur Sanders landed with the Cleveland Browns in the fifth round of the 2025 NFL draft. The Colorado quarterback’s draft-day slide surprised many analysts.
The 23-year-old broke multiple Colorado passing records during his college career. His father, Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, coached him at Colorado.
Sanders was projected by some mock drafts as a potential first-round pick earlier in the process.
Recent comments by Deion Sanders defending his son’s draft position could hurt the rookie’s standing with teammates, according to sports analyst Maggy Gray.
Gray addressed the situation on “Maggie and Perloff.”
“I get Deion trying to defend his kid; any parent would do it, but it’s the last thing that Shedeur needs, though. Think about everything coming out of Browns’ camp, that he’s been fitting in, and it hasn’t been the Shedeur show. So far, he’s doing the Tom Brady thing and putting the chip on his shoulder, and maybe this will become part of his origin story. When Deion comes out and says, ‘This is all fake; this is all lies,’ that takes away from the learning lesson that maybe needed to be taught that he got a dose of humble pie.”
The elder Sanders suggested on social media that NFL teams passed on his son for reasons unrelated to football ability.
Multiple factors likely contributed to Sanders’ draft position. Scouts questioned his performance against top competition and his leadership style during pre-draft evaluations.
Sanders enters a quarterback room with limited established depth.
The Browns released their longtime starter after the 2024 season. Cleveland’s current quarterback depth chart remains unsettled heading into training camp.
Early reports from Browns minicamp suggest Sanders has impressed coaches with his work ethic. He’s participated in all voluntary workouts since signing his rookie contract.
The quarterback stands 6-foot-2 and weighs 215 pounds. He completed 74.2% of his passes for 4,134 yards and 37 touchdowns in his final college season.
Sanders threw just 10 interceptions during that campaign.
His college success came with Colorado’s improved offensive line and talented receiving corps. The Buffaloes went 9-4 in his final season after struggling in previous years.
Cleveland’s coaching staff plans to evaluate all quarterbacks equally during training camp. The team hasn’t named a starter for the 2025 season opener.
