Shedeur Sanders, once projected as a potential top-three pick, is now the center of attention at Browns rookie minicamp—not for his performance, but for the unexpected plunge to the fifth round in the 2025 NFL Draft.
His fame, persona, and pedigree have drawn outsized media attention, despite being the 144th overall selection.
Media Frenzy Meets Reality for Shedeur Sanders Following Fifth-Round Draft Slide
Albert Breer offered a candid assessment on The Ultimate Cleveland Sports Show, acknowledging the unusual level of attention Sanders is receiving.
“Have I ever seen this with a fifth-round pick before? The answer is no, because it’s such a unique situation from that standpoint,” Breer said. He compared the situation to past Browns storylines involving Johnny Manziel, Baker Mayfield, and Deshaun Watson, stating, “I’ve seen it in Cleveland before, right?… I feel like this is actually the sort of situation that Cleveland’s been in the middle of over the last 15 years now.”
Sanders’ dramatic slide from potential first-round status to Day 3 of the draft raised eyebrows across the league. Dillon Gabriel of Oregon was drafted in the third round before him; therefore, Sanders wasn’t only the sixth quarterback chosen, but also not Cleveland’s first pick at the position. According to Breer, Sanders’ star power ultimately worked against him.
“When you get to the third round, now we’re talking about, for some teams, players that are depth or they’re developmental. And those players generally have to develop in the shadows,” Breer explained. “He’s not a ‘blend into the background’ type of player.”
Breer emphasized that Sanders handled the pre-draft process with the belief he’d be taken early. “He handled the process like he was a top-five (pick) lock,” Breer said, adding that Sanders declined meetings with multiple teams who later shared negative experiences.
One example Breer cited involved a team giving Sanders an intentionally flawed play to install — standard practice to test a quarterback’s awareness. “He didn’t catch them and got called on it, and it didn’t go well after that… He was pissed that they did that to him.”
Another incident occurred during an NFL Combine interview in which Sanders was asked to explain an interception. “They go in the meeting, they show the interception and they say, ‘What happened here?’ (Sanders responds,) ‘Well, I like to get into a rhythm earlier in the game.’” The meeting soured, and Sanders reportedly concluded, “‘Well, maybe I’m not a fit for you.’” Breer recalled the source saying, “I’ve never heard that before.”
Now competing with Deshaun Watson, Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, and Gabriel, Sanders faces a steep climb to secure a roster spot — despite all the hype surrounding his arrival.