Shedeur Sanders’ Shocking NFL Draft Slide Makes Sense

What we know

First things first, the market for quarterbacks was very slim this year. There’s a short list of teams that need a quarterback.

Among them, the Jets, Browns, and Steelers are the three teams that needed one. There wasn’t a large demand, so it adds up that teams could’ve been skeptical to reach up to grab a quarterback that few others wanted.

Taking a quarterback later in the draft also saves teams a substantial amount of money. The estimated salary for No. 144 is $4.58 million. An early second-round pick still gathers a salary of around $10 million, so the gap from each round is significant. It’s possible teams wanted to save some cap space.

Aside from the financial perspective, the story of the weekend was his pre-draft interviews.

Jonathan Jones of CBS reported that Sanders tanked interviews with teams he didn’t want to play for. There are no specifics about what he did, but it clearly did not go over well with the league.

It doesn’t help that his father claimed they would have an Eli Manning situation if he got taken by a team they didn’t want.

On top of that, he didn’t do many workouts and didn’t attend the Senior Bowl or the combine.

Sanders was seemingly confident he knew where he’d be drafted, but teams were not on the same page.

From the looks of this situation, his game doesn’t appear to be the top reason for his slide. Teams know he’s a good quarterback. They know what they saw at Colorado. This slide isn’t because of his ball speed, pocket presence, or anything tangible.

It appears that the league isn’t happy with his actions, and the best guess is that they’re attempting to make an example of or punish him.

With the outward disrespect towards a majority of the league, it’s likely that they want to send a message to the Sanders family and attempt to take Coach Prime and Shedeur down a notch.

What’s next for Sanders and the Browns?

If you look at this pick without bias, the Browns got a steal.

Despite any character concerns or troubles on the field, this guy was the consensus QB2. Getting him in the fifth round was much cheaper than expected.

Taking Gabriel is a head-scratcher, but the Browns have two rookies to compete for a spot on their team. It’ll be fascinating to see how Sanders translates into an NFL organization, but he brings a lot of promise for a fifth-round pick.

In Defense of Shedeur

The media and fans have been relentless in criticizing the Sanders family.

You can say what you want about their attitudes, their confidence, or anything, but Shedeur gets a far worse reputation than he deserves.

He achieved a 3.9 GPA during his career at Colorado. That’s an impressive feat for an athlete of his magnitude, and it’s something most people don’t hear about. Additionally, he was never involved in an off-field controversy.

Sanders skipped the combine and multiple opportunities to showcase himself. That could’ve contributed to him falling a bit in the draft. He could’ve addressed the negatives in his game, but chose not to.

Also, it’s a common route for players to take nowadays. Ashton Jeanty, Travis Hunter, Abdul Carter, and other top prospects opted out of the combine and other workouts.

So was he not good enough to opt out? Is it because it fits the narrative of the spoiled coach’s kid?

In general, the media is ruthless towards someone like Shedeur. No matter what, you will always hear the worst. For somebody who remained calm and humble throughout his public demise, the world is quick to continue the onslaught.

Maybe he isn’t worth the hype, or maybe he is.

Maybe he’ll get criticized for his failure as the son of an NFL legend, or maybe he’ll be criticized for his success, and they’ll say everything was handed to him by his dad, an NFL legend.

Maybe there’s a story beyond the criticism, or maybe everything could happen in perfect timing.