The Cleveland Browns had an intriguing and exciting 2025 NFL Draft by bringing in multiple talents on both sides of the ball who should be able to contribute right away and could be pillars for this franchise for many years to come.
Cleveland raised a lot of eyebrows by trading down from the second overall pick to the fifth pick and opting to select Michigan defensive tackle Mason Graham instead of taking two-way Heisman winner Travis Hunter, but it was another rookie who the Browns took much later than expected that is generating the most buzz.
Fifth-round pick Shedeur Sanders was projected to be a top-10 pick at one point before being passed over multiple times by every team in the league, and recent details have emerged from Ray Fittipaldo of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on an episode of Infinity Sports Network about why the Pittsburgh Steelers, in particular decided not to take him.
“I think mostly, it had to do with [the Steelers] didn’t have a grade on [Shedeur Sanders] within the first five rounds,” the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Ray Fittipaldo said. “I think the second part of that equation, and this was never really discussed, you’ve seen some leaks with other teams across the NFL. Now, a lot of people just didn’t want to deal with Deion Sanders and what that might be down the road after he’s done at Colorado. So, I don’t know if the Steelers felt that same way, but they did not have a top-five grade. A top-five round grade on Shedeur Sanders, and that’s why they went the route they went.”
The reality was that Sanders simply wasn’t the prospect we were all led to believe, as the media fell in love with him and propped him up.
He is still a talented quarterback prospect, and he may be one of the sleepers of this class, but he needs time to grow and learn, which is exactly what the Browns are giving him.
The Steelers clearly weren’t the only team that didn’t have a high grade on him, so it’s time to treat Sanders for what he is and not put unreasonable expectations on him.
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