By Steve Megargee/AP
Shedeur Sanders’ long wait finally has ended.
The Cleveland Browns selected the Colorado quarterback and son of Hall of Famer Deion Sanders in the fifth round with the 144th overall pick in the NFL draft on Saturday. That ended a stunning fall for Sanders, the most recognizable player in this draft class after his attention-getting college career.
Draft forecasts generally rated Sanders behind only Miami’s Cam Ward — who went first overall to the Tennessee Titans — among quarterbacks in this class. Five quarterbacks were taken before him instead, with one of them going to Cleveland when the Browns picked Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel in the third round.
“It wasn’t necessarily the plan going into the weekend to select two quarterbacks,” Browns general manager Andrew Berry said. "But you know we do believe in best player available and positional value. And you know we didn’t necessarily expect (Sanders) to be available in the fifth round.”
After such a long delay, Sanders let out his emotions once he finally got the call a couple of days later than expected.
With his brother Shilo live-streaming the proceedings on Twitch, Sanders could be seen putting on a Browns cap and performing a celebratory dance at his family's Texas home. Another video shared on X by the NFL showed Sanders jumping into a swimming pool.
“Thank you GOD,” Sanders said in an X post.
Sanders now is suddenly part of a crowded Browns quarterback room as Deshaun Watson sits out the upcoming season with a torn Achilles tendon. Sanders and Gabriel join Kenny Pickett and 40-year-old Joe Flacco.
The Browns moved up to take Sanders, trading their own fifth-round pick (No. 166 overall) and a sixth-round selection (No. 192) to Seattle in exchange for the No. 144 pick.
“Thank you (to) the Browns organization for giving me a chance," Sanders said in a video that was posted on the Browns' X account. "That’s all I need.”
Colorado Buffalos picked in NFL Draft
- Travis Hunter: Receiver/Defensive Back. Number 2 pick. Jacksonville Jaguars
- Shedeur Sanders: Quarterback. Number 144 pick. Cleveland Browns.
- LaJohntay Wester: Receiver. Number 203 pick. Baltimore Ravens.
- Jimmy Horn Jr.: Receiver. Number 208 pick. Carolina Panthers.
The history of the draft includes plenty of stories of quarterbacks waiting much longer than expected to get drafted. Sometimes it ultimately worked out just fine for them.
Dan Marino was the sixth quarterback taken in the famous 1983 draft class and went 27th overall to Miami, where he would spend his entire Hall of Fame career. Aaron Rodgers was supposed to go among the first few picks in 2005 but went 24th to Green Bay, where he went on to win four MVP awards and a Super Bowl.
More recently, Will Levis was considered a near-certain first-round pick in 2023 but slipped into the second round before Tennessee took him at No. 33 overall.
But it’s hard to come up with a fall as steep as this one.
Sanders was one of the most recognizable names in college football the last couple of years while teaming up with 2024 Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter – taken second overall by Jacksonville – and playing for his father.
He finished eighth in the Heisman balloting last season while throwing for a school-record 4,134 yards and helping Colorado go 9-4. The Buffaloes had gone 4-8 in Sanders’ first season there in 2023 after he spent two years playing for his dad at Jackson State.
Most forecasts heading into the draft had Sanders going much sooner.
That’s now how it’s turned out.
The New York Giants traded up to get the 25th pick on Thursday but opted for Mississippi’s Jaxson Dart. Three other quarterbacks went Friday. New Orleans selected Louisville’s Tyler Shough in the second round. In the third round, Seattle chose Alabama’s Jalen Milroe and Cleveland took Gabriel.
Gabriel was responsible for a Football Bowl Subdivision record 188 career total touchdowns during a six-year college career that also included stops at Central Florida and Oklahoma.
Cleveland became the first team to draft two quarterbacks in the first five rounds since 2012, when Washington took Robert Griffin III with the second overall pick and Kirk Cousins in the fourth round.
“We talk often about quarterback being the most important position in the sport,” Berry said. “We spent a lot of time with Shedeur throughout the process. He’s highly accurate, can play well from the pocket. You know, very productive college career.”
One criticism of Sanders was the fact that he was sacked 94 times the last two seasons at Colorado. Concerns also arose about his arm strength. There also were worries about how he would adapt to playing for someone other than his father.
Another potential wild card was how Sanders' outspoken father might react if he believed a team wasn't developing Shedeur effectively enough.
Deion Sanders had talked in some old interviews about having an idea where he’d want his sons to play and where he wouldn’t want them. He sometimes even invoked the name of Eli Manning, who got traded to the New York Giants during the 2004 draft after saying he didn’t want to play for the San Diego Chargers, who had selected him with the No. 1 pick that year.
Yet there also is plenty of reason to believe Sanders could succeed. Denver wasn't in need of a quarterback with Bo Nix coming off an exceptional rookie season, but Broncos coach Sean Payton offered a warning Friday as he discussed Sanders' surprising fall.
"There will be this chip on his shoulder and beware because this guy’s going to play in this league,” Payton said.
Some other familiar names also got taken Saturday.
Cam Skattebo, the versatile running back who led Arizona State to a surprising College Football Playoff appearance, went in the fourth round to the New York Giants with the 105th overall pick. Tennessee running back Dylan Sampson, the 2024 Southeastern Conference offensive player of the year, went later in the fourth round to Indianapolis. Syracuse's Kyle McCord, who set an Atlantic Coast Conference single-season record by throwing for 4,779 yards last year, went to Philadelphia in the sixth round.
The two quarterbacks from the most recent CFP championship game went in the sixth round, with Pittsburgh taking Ohio State's Will Howard at No. 185 and Indianapolis selecting Notre Dame's Riley Leonard at No. 189.
Howard was one of seven Ohio State players to get selected Saturday, meaning 14 players from the reigning national champions have now been drafted.
In the fourth round, linebacker Cody Simon went 115th to Arizona, safety Lathan Ransom 122nd to Carolina and edge rusher Jack Sawyer 123rd to Pittsburgh. In the fifth round, defensive tackle Ty Hamilton went to the Los Angeles Rams (No. 148), cornerback Jordan Hancock to Buffalo (170) and cornerback Denzel Burke to Arizona (174).
The final day of the draft also featured the trade of a quarterback, as Seattle sent Sam Howell and its fifth-round pick (No. 172 overall) to Minnesota for the Vikings’ fifth-round selection (No. 142). Seattle then used the No. 142 pick on Notre Dame defensive tackle Rylie Mills.
AP Pro Football Writer Josh Dubow and AP Sports Writer Joe Reedy contributed to this report.
