It wasn’t a surprise that Shedeur Sanders ended up in Cleveland by the conclusion of the 2025 NFL Draft. After all, the Browns had a glaring need at quarterback and extensively scouted the Colorado product during the pre-draft process.
The real shocker was that the Browns landed Sanders on Day 3 after already picking a quarterback in the third round.
The team arrived at the conclusion that Sanders wasn’t worth the No. 2 pick, per Daniel Oyefusi and Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, but he was still considered a potential target late in the first round or early in the second. That especially seemed like the case when the Browns added extra draft capital in their trade with the Jaguars, positioning them to add a quarterback on Day 2.
That theory turned out to be half-right. Cleveland drafted a QB with the 94th overall pick, but it was Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel, not Sanders. His slide continued into Day 3, where the Browns decided his value was too good to pass up. They traded up to the 144th pick to select Sanders, ending his fall and landing a potential future starter in the fifth round.
“We felt like it got to a point where he was probably mispriced relative to the draft,” said Berry after the pick (via Oyefusi). “Really, the acquisition cost was pretty light, and it’s a guy that we think can outproduce his draft slot.”
Drafting Gabriel made it seem like they had no intention of bringing Sanders to Cleveland. Browns personnel believed that other teams had a Day 2 grade on the polarizing prospect and were thus surprised when he fell past the third round. When Sanders’ name wasn’t called early on Day 3, general manager Andrew Berry started working the phones to move up, even after selecting Gabriel the day before
Cleveland’s front office didn’t spend time reevaluating Sanders’ talent or reassessing his ranking on their board. Nor were they pushed by team owner Jimmy Haslem to make the pick, at least according to Berry.
Instead, according to Oyefusi, Berry “worked hard to trade up” and eventually delivered the news to Sanders via video call. His father, Hall of Fame cornerback and Colorado head coach Deion Sanders, later called Berry as well after getting to know each other during the pre-draft process. Deion also has a good relationship with Browns quarterbacks coach Bill Musgrave after playing together for the 49ers in 1994.
Deion’s legacy loomed large during the months leading up to the draft. He famously rejected a written test from the Giants during his own pre-draft interviews in 1989, confidently (and correctly) asserting that he would be drafted long before New York was on the clock.
That attitude seemed to carry over to his son. During and after Shedeur Sanders’ fall, reports emerged that he struggled in his interviews and visits with teams, especially the Giants. According to Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio, Sanders approached his meetings with prospective future employers as if he was being “recruited” as opposed to being “interviewed.” That caused him to be wiped from several teams’ boards, including the Steelers.
Despite persistent links throughout March and April, Sanders was never a “real option” for Pittsburgh, according to Mark Kaboly of The Pat McAfee Show. The Steelers were more interested in Notre Dame’s Riley Leonard and Ohio State’s Will Howard, the latter of whom they drafted in the sixth round.
Sanders’ interactions with the Browns were reportedly more positive than with other teams, giving Berry and head coach Kevin Stefanski the confidence that adding one of the most talked-about prospects of the year could only help their uncertain quarterback situation. Cleveland has no clear starter for 2025 or beyond, giving Sanders an opportunity he may not have had with another other team.
If the Browns can turn a fifth-round pick into a franchise quarterback, they’ll have cleared a major hurdle in recovering from the disastrous Deshaun Watson trade and bringing the team back to competitive relevancy.
They spent more than half of their draft picks on QBs and RBs and have no offensive line or receiving core.
They have one of the best offensive lines in football when healthy. That’s they key part. They could definitely use depth pieces.
Who’s their left tackle? Wills is a free agent. Conklin has missed 21 games over the last two years.
I’ll add to that, does their RT Dawand Jones return to form from injury (and improve, he looked overmatched before the injury this past year) and does Bitonio start to decline. I was absolutely shocked they didn’t heavily draft OL considering whoever is QB is going to need a clean pocket.
Yes we do. Browns signed 2 OL and 2 WR prior to the draft. We needed QB’S and RBs
You know what’s more valuable? Jimmy Haslam selling the Browns.
Never happenin lol
Just couldn’t pass on being a dumbest franchise in sports. Too much value.
The team arrived at the conclusion that Sanders wasn’t worth the No. 2 pick, per Daniel Oyefusi and Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, but he was still considered a potential target late in the first round or early in the second.
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That’s a flat-out lie. If they thought Sanders was worth a late first-round pick, then they would’ve taken him with their #94 pick or earlier. There is no way around that, unless they thought Gabriel was also a 1st round pick.
“ but he was still considered a potential target late in the first round or early in the second.”
You’re confusing two things: on the field off the field
On the field: sanders warranted a first round second round pick
Off the field: teams felt he wasn’t worth an investment of a first or second round pick
Just because a team say they had a 1st round 2nd round grade on a player and teams decide the players personal life isn’t worth the investment doesn’t mean they lied.
We’ve had a plethora of players through the years that are prime examples of this: their draft stock took major hits due to personal issues despite 1st round 2nd round grades
Tyreek Hill
Lael Collins
Tyrann Mathieu
Greg Hardy
Shawn Oakman
Vontaze Burfict
When you start drafting players because the value is too good to pass up, instead of drafting for depth in needed areas (like the OL), then you’re doing it wrong.
Depends what you do with the surplus value. If they sit on it, its worthless. If they move one, or more, of their qbs for something worth more than the pick they used on Sanders, that’s found money.
@suffer. The problem is OL was thin in this draft class. The only position you could get decent value was probably DT,TE, and RB. The logic is probably go with flacco this year and they have Gilbert and Sanders for next year. They will probably have two high first rounders next year to address it.
The OL in this class was thin, but there were still players they could’ve added, even if they needed time to develop. They could’ve drafted 10 QBs or RBs; both are useless without an O-line in front of them. They didn’t need a DT or special teams LB as much as they needed O-linemen.
@kyle 12. They got extra picks and can address it next year is my point. They probably need two young qbs that can get acclimated to the system this year and the best will win the job next year.
I disagree. What is the current value for a 5th round OL? If you hit on one of every five times you draft a guy like Sanders, then you’ll get a much better payout than then expected value for a 5th round OL.
I am decidedly not a fan of Sanders, but he has a shot at being a starting QB in this league.
Maybe they should have drafted a few more QBs: I’m not sure they have enough.
So they get to the end of the third round and Gabriel was still more value than Sanders. Pretty amazing. Someone is going to be on the practice squad…
Such amazing value that even at 126 they didn’t deem him worth the pick.
It’s well worth the gamble. But it’s obvious nobody ranked him that highly. If he was such a value, teams would’ve traded up at the beginning of the 4th, or at least used their 4th rounder on him.
Hes a 5th rounder with some upside. Good pick. But let’s no try to re-write the narrative here. Nobody liked him as much as the media did.
It’s also funny that Cleveland wasted draft capital to trade up in the 5th to get Sanders. No other team wanted him.
What a dumb franchise.
I’m fine with saying sanders was a value in the 5th but you wayyyyyy over valued Gabriel.