The Fall to Fifth: Browns End NFL Draft Drama for Shedeur Sanders

The wait is over. After not hearing his name called on the first two days of the 2025 NFL Draft, Shedeur Sanders was chosen with the No. 144 pick by the Browns.

Sanders’s slide from a projected top-10 pick finally ended in the fifth round—but not until after five other quarterbacks had been taken.

Throughout the first four rounds, Sanders’s name kept coming up as a possibility for teams with quarterback needs. All went with other options. As expected, the Titans drafted Cam Ward No. 1 overall. The Giants moved up to draft Jaxson Dart at No. 25. On Day 2, three quarterbacks left the board: No. 40 Tyler Shough (Saints), No. 92 Jalen Milroe (Seahawks), and No. 94 Dillon Gabriel (Browns).

As the draft entered its third and final day, the potential destinations for Sanders shifted. While there were fewer teams still looking for a new starter, plenty of teams around the league could use depth at the position.

One team still needing a No. 1 QB on Day 3 was the Steelers, who lost Russell Wilson (Giants) and Justin Fields (Jets) in the offseason but have been toying with signing veteran Aaron Rodgers. The Raiders remained another possible destination. Although Las Vegas picked up 34-year-old Geno Smith, who became a two-time Pro-Bowler during a five-year stint with the Seahawks under Pete Carroll, they could be in the market for another playcaller.

In the end, the Browns traded up to get Sanders after drafting Dillon Gabriel (Oregon) in the third round. They now enter the season with five quarterbacks on the roster. Deshaun Watson has the largest guaranteed deal, but he’s sidelined with an Achilles injury and may not even play this year. Flacco is 40 years old and on a short-term deal, and the Browns traded for Kenny Pickett during the offseason. Sanders will also be battling Gabriel for reps.

Crowded QB Room

The Browns’ current quarterback depth chart is long on names but short on certainty heading into the preseason. Here’s a look at each player and what they’re costing Cleveland:

• Deshaun Watson: Two years remaining, worth $92 million
• Joe Flacco: One year, $4 million
• Kenny Pickett: One year remaining, worth $2.6 million
• Dillon Gabriel: Four years, estimated $6 million rookie contract
• Shedeur Sanders: Four years, estimated $4.6 million rookie contract

But Sanders’s celebrity and notoriety are not typical of a backup role. 

He’s the son of Hall of Fame cornerback Deion Sanders, who was also his coach at Colorado (and, before that, Jackson State). There has been open speculation that Coach Prime’s outspokenness contributed to his son’s slide. In January, he told Tamron Hall there were “a couple of teams that I won’t allow him to play for.”

The father-son duo joined with No. 2 draft pick Travis Hunter to lead the Buffaloes to a 9–4 record and bring national attention back to a school whose last big-name quarterback was Kordell Stewart 30 years ago. In 2024, Sanders set school records for the most passing yards in a single season (4,134), most touchdowns in a season (37), and completion percentage (74%).

By slipping from a projected first-rounder to a fifth-round pick, Sanders gave up a lot of cash. First-rounders are signed to guaranteed four-year contracts worth anywhere from $13 million to $43 million. Fifth-rounders earn under $5 million.