Quarterback Shedeur Sanders’ dramatic fall from grace during the 2025 National Football League (NFL) Draft was one of the biggest talking points of the summer.
Sanders had been widely tipped to be a first-round pick by several respected NFL pundits, but was overlooked when the selection process got underway.
The Cleveland Browns eventually chose the 23-year-old in the fifth round, and his slip down the rankings triggered plenty of debate in NFL circles.
Concerns about his attitude, perceived entitlement, a lack of elite physical traits and off-field issues were cited as the primary reasons for Sanders’ late selection.
However, former Minnesota Vikings quarterback Daunte Culpepper felt Sanders should have gone 1B in the draft, and believes other teams will ultimately regret not choosing him.
“Based on all the quarterbacks I got to see last season in college, I think Shedeur was a close second behind Cam Ward,” Culpepper said. “I think if Cam Ward was one, I thought Shedeur should have been 1B.
“Obviously, I’m not in the war rooms with the teams and I don’t know what they were evaluating, but just off the off the football aspect of it, I thought he was the second-best quarterback coming out and I was very surprised to see him drop the way he did.
“You hear stories, but the bottom line is you want a quarterback who can make plays and get your team to be in the best situation to win.
“For whatever reason, teams didn’t pick him but he was the second-best option. Every day is now an opportunity for him to go out and showcase himself, even at practice.
“He’s just got to go out and show who he is, and show he’s worthy of being a starting quarterback in the NFL. He did have a great game in pre-season and he’s got to build on that.”
With veteran Joe Flacco starting against Cincinnati Bengals in the Browns’ season opener, Sanders will need to bide his time during the current campaign.
Dillon Gabriel, a third-round pick out of Oregon, appears to be ahead of Sanders in the pecking order after securing the back-up role in Week 1.
The Browns’ decision to also draft Sanders raised plenty of eyebrows, particularly given that he was initially expected to be selected in the first round.
However, given that there are no guarantees Gabriel will demonstrate he is capable of replacing Flacco, having a back-up plan is a shrewd move by the organisation.
NFL insider Dianna Russini has shed some light on the situation by claiming that Sanders is viewed as a long-term project by the Browns and he will be given time to develop in Cleveland.
“For all the football conspiracy theorists out there trying to decode the real reason the Cleveland Browns drafted Shedeur Sanders, here’s the truth – there is no big secret,” she said.
“The pick wasn’t some master plan from ownership. It was general manager Andrew Berry’s call, rooted in his belief that Cleveland’s coaching staff could bring out the best in Sanders and help him grow into an NFL quarterback.
“It will be a process, and the Browns want to keep developing him. However, don’t plan on seeing the fifth-round rookie on the field this season unless things get really weird. Cleveland believes in Flacco’s experience and Gabriel’s development as the back-up.”
