Colorado OC repeats warning amid Browns' rumors regarding Shedeur Sanders, Travis Hunter

Cleveland Browns reporters such as Tony Grossi of ESPN Cleveland/The Land on Demand repeatedly said throughout the first week of April that it now seems more likely the club will select Colorado wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter and not Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders with the second overall pick of the 2025 NFL Draft. 

Colorado offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur previously warned that a team that needs a quarterback shouldn't think twice about drafting Sanders. Shurmur again addressed the topic during a recent chat with Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. 

"This is what I’ve told all 32 teams, and I really believe, if you need a quarterback, take Shedeur," Shurmur directly said. "If you don’t need a quarterback, take Travis. I’ve said you can’t go wrong, and I think that pretty much says it all."

The Browns have unofficially closed the door on their Deshaun Watson era after he suffered a pair of serious Achilles injuries during the 2024 season. That said, Cleveland head coach Kevin Stefanski, general manager Andrew Berry and quarterbacks coach Bill Musgrave reportedly believe Kenny Pickett can revive his career with the club after he largely failed to impress across his two-season stint with the Pittsburgh Steelers. 

Pickett was a backup with the Philadelphia Eagles for most of the 2024 campaign. 

Meanwhile, Shurmur has experience serving as an NFL head coach and as an assistant at the highest level. It's now no secret that the Tennessee Titans are expected to make Miami's Cam Ward the draft's first pick on the night of April 24, but Shurmur suggested Sanders would be more than just a consolation prize for the Browns. 

"I’ve seen him obviously at this level and certainly (I was) at the pro level for many years," Shurmur said about Sanders. "He can make every throw you need to make. So that whole lack of arm strength thing, I don’t think it’s very accurate. If you can make every throw that you need to make and if you can do it and be very precise with your ball placement, I just don’t put much stock in that."

Some think Sanders could slide into at least the 20s of the draft order later in April, while others believe the New York Giants could make the polarizing prospect the third overall pick of the player-selection process. Whispers have emerged claiming the Browns or Giants could spend their top choices on Day 1 starters and then trade back into the first round for Sanders, and Grossi mentioned that he feels Cleveland's interest in Louisville's Tyler Shough "confirms they are resigned to drafting a quarterback only after using their first pick on Hunter." 

Shurmur isn't a fan of such a strategy for a club that has no proven long-term quarterback on its roster. 

"His ability to make good decisions is one of the things he does extremely well," Shurmur added about Sanders. "When you’re a quarterback, you’re constantly making decisions, and when it comes to throwing the ball, you’ve got to know what you’re looking at, know when you see what you want to throw, and then pulling the trigger. So him being able to do that smoothly is part of what makes him unique."

As of late Monday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook listed a New Orleans Saints side that could move on from Derek Carr next offseason as the betting favorite at +300 odds to draft Sanders. The Giants were second at +350 odds, followed by the Browns at +425.