Shedeur Sanders’ slide from being a potential top-5 pick all the way to pick No. 144 to the Cleveland Browns in the fifth round was easily the most captivating subplot during the three days of the 2025 NFL Draft.
Fans and analysts struggled to make sense of it, but now it’s all behind us, and Sanders has to prove himself just like any other fifth-round pick.
Browns head coach, Kevin Stefanski, appeared on the ‘We Need To Talk’ show on Wednesday and told Andrea Kremer and Jenny Dell that the team is fully behind Sanders and made sure there was no confusion about the situation.
“Once you’re in the building, nobody really cares where you were drafted. I think it’s really up to every team to make those decisions on when they’re taking guys and what positions they value,” Stefanski said. “Clearly, he has the talent to go higher in the draft—he didn’t. None of these guys are finished products, and Shedeur [Sanders] certainly has things he can work on. In terms of the person, in terms of the kid who’s willing to work, I think that’s who we’re getting.”
“Once you’re in the building, nobody really cares where you were drafted.”@Browns HC Kevin Stefanski spoke with @Andrea_Kremer and @JennyDell_ about rookie QB Shedeur Sanders. pic.twitter.com/gqWjpMH89D
— We Need To Talk (@WeNeedToTalk) May 7, 2025
Sanders certainly won’t be handed an easy path to the Week 1 starting role as he would have if he were taken high in the first round, but perhaps this is what he needed to push him to be his best.
It could be an all-time humbling as he is now in a confusing quarterback room alongside fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel and a pair of veterans in Kenny Pickett and Joe Flacco, all of whom could be in the mix to start in 2025.
The Browns have the luxury of being able to be patient with Sanders since they have plenty of other QB options and two first-round picks next season in what is projected to be a strong QB draft.
At one point, Sanders looked to be in play for the Browns with the No. 2 pick, but at No. 144, it’s a low-risk, high-reward move.
Stefanski sounds like he has a solid plan for Sanders and his development, and that’s all fans can hope for at this point.
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