Do NFL executives think Browns ownership is responsible for drafting of Shedeur Sanders?

Shortly after the Cleveland Browns traded up in the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft to take Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders with pick No. 144, a clip of Browns general manager Andrew Berry and head coach Kevin Stefanski appearing unenthused over the move went viral.

It was subsequently noted that Berry selecting Oregon's Dillon Gabriel in the third round was done "for football reasons," which caused some to suggest Browns owner Jimmy Haslam was behind the decision to bring Sanders to Cleveland. 

For a piece published on Thursday, Mike Sando of The Athletic spoke with at least one unnamed league executive about "the perception that ownership drove a selection that wouldn’t make sense to" those tasked with assembling Cleveland's roster this offseason. 

"What the team builders are saying is, there is a level of distraction that comes with some players that impacts the team," that executive explained. "The energy that goes into coaching certain players impacts the team."

While it certainly appears that how Sanders reportedly handled the predraft process caused him to fall to the fifth round, some have also pointed out that teams such as the Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Giants may not have wanted such a big name who should probably develop as an unused backup in their quarterback rooms. 

"Maybe the Giants came to the conclusion like the rest of us that Sanders is a second-round pick," one evaluator said before the draft. "I bristle at everyone saying they are smearing his name. Everyone has caught up to the evaluation that he is not a first-round prospect. The media guys are lagging behind the evaluations, so there has to be a reason."

A recent report hinted that the Browns were at least somewhat interested in moving back into the first round for Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart before the Giants leapfrogged the Los Angeles Rams in the draft order for Dart. Cleveland then made Gabriel a third-round pick even though he was projected as a third-day selection on the morning of April 25. 

"Most teams had Sanders rated as a second-round pick, but when you are building a team, you have to include the intangibles and the other stuff and decide whether you want it or not," a different executive said. "For most teams at that stage, it was not worth it. So he falls a couple rounds, and it’s too hard for a team like the Browns to pass on him."

That executive was likely referencing how the Browns haven't had a true long-term QB1 since the franchise returned to the NFL in 1999. Sanders seems to be embracing life as a Cleveland resident, but he isn't yet guaranteed a roster spot heading into a competition that will include Gabriel, Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett.