Shedeur Sanders waited longer than he wanted and longer than many expected.
On Saturday, the former Colorado quarterback was taken by the Cleveland Browns, who sent picks 166 and 192 overall to Seattle for the rights to the selection in the fifth round(144) of the 2025 NFL Draft.
Sanders, the son of Hall of Famer and current Colorado head coach Deion Sanders, will now have an opportunity in Cleveland.
The 23-year-old, who many expected to be a first-day selection, knows he must prove himself on the next level.
“I feel like talent is everywhere throughout the draft,” Sanders said. “It’s about just being picked and who sees your value. That’s pretty much it. Because it’s a lot of valuable players that go in the rounds after the first and second. So I’m a product of one of those. And I understand you can’t really categorize, I’ll say my talent, I just got to prove and show what I’m capable of. But what fuels me is my purpose in life and understanding the route that we’re gonna have to take. Understanding that I was able to get an opportunity when a lot of people didn’t want to give me an opportunity. So that’s what I’m truly thankful for. That’s what fuels me.”
Sanders spent time with the Browns during the predraft process, and he feels Cleveland is perfect for him.
“I know I’m going to fit in perfectly,” Sanders said. “I feel like it’s first getting in, showing respect to the vets, showing them I’m here ready to work. 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. That’s what I’m most excited about being in the building and of course the staff, the cafeteria [staff], everything was extreme, the people there were genuine. It was real cool. So I left that visit knowing that if that was the place for me, I would feel real comfortable with what they have in place.”
There was talk that Sanders did not do well during the interview process with various teams, but Sanders focused on how things went with the Browns, which he believed went well.
“I think what happened was I had a great interview and great process with the Browns, and that’s why they were able to pick me,” he said. “So anything outside the organization is really a non factor to me now because this is where my focus and this is where my mind is just doing everything I can to make the team better. So everything outside of that, the opinions don’t really matter.”
Sanders is in a good situation in Cleveland. He’ll have to compete with 40-year-old Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, and the team’s third-round choice, Dillon Gabriel. Of course, Deshaun Watson will miss the season after re-tearing his Achilles, so there is an opportunity for Sanders to be legendary. If he balls out, he could start next season for the Browns. In the end, this could be a blessing in disguise.
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