Shedeur Sanders Compares Himself to Patriots Legend Tom Brady

No one expected what we saw during the 2025 NFL Draft. Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders was expected to be a first round pick that would land with the Pittsburgh Steelers at the very latest with the No. 21 pick. Instead, he slipped out of the first round, with Cam Ward and Jaxson Dart being the only quarterbacks to go in round one. Then the second round came, and the New Orleans Saints selected Tyler Shough out of Louisville, who will be 26 years old this September, and Sanders then slipped out of the second round as Mel Kiper Jr. cut a promo on the NFL, saying they don't know how to evaluate quarterbacks.

The end of the third round came, and the Cleveland Browns selected Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel, and at that point a certain draft analyst was about to find every NFL GM and hold them hostage for the crimes they committed. Jokes aside, though, no one thought Gabriel would be picked ahead of Sanders, nor were there any expectations that the Colorado star would slip that far. Nonetheless, even after taking Gabriel in the third round, the Browns came back around to Sanders and selected him in the fifth round of the draft to end his slide.

While there are plenty of reported reasons for Sanders' slide, most pertaining to the interview process with several teams, the slide to the fifth round was unprecedented since the NFL Draft became mainstream. That said, the quarterback isn't deterred. Sanders shared that New England Patriots' legend Tom Brady spoke to him after the draft, and that Sanders expects his career to follow a similar path to the seven-time Super Bowl champion.

"My story is going to be similar [to Brady's]," Sanders said. "I was a late-round draft pick, but we're here now, so none of that stuff matters.

We'll see soon enough what Sanders' career turns out to be. First, though, he has to earn a roster spot in a crowded quarterback room, and there will be plenty of eyes on Cleveland to see how things shape out for the young quarterback.