Feb 6, 2025; New Orleans, LA, USA; Deion Sanders (right) with his son Shedeur Sanders on the red carpet before Super Bowl LIX NFL Honors at Saenger Theatre. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Colin Cowherd Sends Strong Message About Shedeur Sanders, Deion Sanders

Originally posted on Cleveland Browns on SI
By Spencer German | Last updated May 1, 2025 1:00 PM ET

The Cleveland Browns believe they got a steal in the fifth round of the NFL Draft by selecting Colorado star Shedeur Sanders. Conversations over why the son of NFL Hall of Famer Deion Sanders slipped so far, however, continues.

Notable radio personality Colin Cowherd, host of The Herd on FS1, chimed in on the conversation this week, making it clear that Sander's slide wasn't about NFL teams misevaluating Sanders.

"It's not easy to [find a franchise QB], but stop making Shedeur and Deion Sanders the victim here," they're not," Cowherd asserted. "It's all really explainable."

"Stop making Shedeur Sanders and Deion the victim here. They're not."@ColinCowherd discusses the simple reason so many NFL teams chose to pass on Shedeur in the early rounds of the #NFLDraft. pic.twitter.com/Exc01EJowK
— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) April 30, 2025

To bolster his point, Cowherd listed a number of top tier QBs in the NFL that NFL teams nailed evaluations on, most of whom happen to be first-round picks, emphasizing that if Sanders was that caliber of QB he wouldn't have slipped to the fifth round.

Cowherd isn't wrong that NFL teams clearly, graded Sanders differently than many pundits and analysts. That doesn't mean he's not talented though, or have a chance to carve out a memorable career for himself.

As Browns general manager Andrew Berry told Sanders on the phone when they called to draft him, "it's not about where you're drafted, it's about what you do form here."

Berry and the Browns have made it clear that the team's QB situation will be an open competition between Sanders, fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel, veteran Joe Flacco and former first-round pick Kenny Pickett.

That means Sanders will have an opportunity to win the job in the coming months.

This article first appeared on Cleveland Browns on SI and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: