The Cleveland Browns passed on former Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders six times in the NFL draft before deciding it was time to make him a member of the team.
Cleveland selected Oregon QB Dillon Gabriel late in the third round (No. 94 overall) in a move that turned heads around the league. He was the fifth quarterback taken in the proceedings and went before Sanders to a team that several analysts thought would make a move on Sanders at some point either on Day 1 or early on Day 2.
But as Day 3 progressed, and Round 4 spilled into Round 5, Sanders remained on the board. Cleveland still has Deshaun Watson on the books for the next two years and traded for Kenny Pickett before signing Joe Flacco in free agency. Both Pickett and Flacco will be free agents next offseason, while Watson continues to rehabilitate his twice-torn Achilles tendon and may or may not be available at some point in 2025.
The decision to draft Gabriel seemingly filled out the Browns’ QB position group, but the value that Sanders — projected by most analysts as a first or second-round prospect — offered in the fifth round was too good to pass up. Cleveland trade pick Nos. 166 and 192 to the Seattle Seahawks for pick No. 144 and acquired Sanders there.
The 23-year-old Sanders smiled and danced with elation upon seeing ESPN make the news official via its live broadcast. The quarterback then went to social media and posted a three word message encapsulating the relief and happiness he felt to finally land with an NFL franchise.
“Thank you GOD,” Sanders wrote on his X account.
Shedeur Sanders Spoke With Humility, Gratitude After Landing With Browns
Sanders spoke more in depth with reporters following the Browns’ fifth-round selection.
“I would say I’m extremely grateful for the opportunity, throughout everything,” he said. “I don’t ever focus on the negative or even think about the negative because the positive happens so fast, and it’s a change of emotions. For me, it was just playing quarterback. That’s what it’s about. You can’t be up too low or anything, you got to be able to celebrate.”
Sanders went on to discuss the approach he will take competing with multiple veteran QBs in the Browns locker room.
“I know I’m going to fit in perfectly. I feel like it’s first getting in, showing respect to the vets, showing them I’m here ready to work,” Sanders continued. “Show the coaches and have them understand, I’m here ready to work. So they could actually understand the real me. That’s what I’m truly thankful to have, is the opportunity for people to actually see the real me and not be able to see stuff that could be true or not.”
Shedeur Sanders, Dillon Gabriel Were Both Prolific Passers at Collegiate Level
The Browns landed two QBs in Sanders and Gabriel who were both prolific passers at the college level.
Sanders finished his final season at Colorado with 4,134 passing yards, 37 TDs and 10 INTs.
Meanwhile, Gabriel put up 3,857 passing yards, 30 TDs and 6 INTs during his final campaign at Oregon.
