BEREA, Ohio — For the past two days, Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders has been falling on the draft board. A projected first-round pick, Sanders was still there in the fifth round, the Browns opting to pass on him Friday and take Oregon's Dillon Gabriel.
But on Saturday, in a splash move, the Browns traded up and took Sanders in the fifth round.
The Browns traded their No. 166 overall pick and No. 192 overall pick in this year's draft with the Seattle Seahawks for their No. 144 pick, with it taking Sanders.
Sanders, son of NFL legend Deion Sanders, is one of the most accomplished quarterbacks in college football history, finishing his career with an impressively accurate completion rate of 70.1 percent (1,267-of-1,808 passes) for 14,353 yards and 134 touchdowns with 27 interceptions.
Last season at Colorado, the 6-foot-2, 215-pound quarterback had 4,134 passing yards, 37 touchdown passes and eight interceptions.
Sanders has been praised not only for his accuracy but for his presence in the pocket and ability to work under pressure.
The Browns visited Sanders' Pro Day and were favorites to take him early in the draft. Now, they get Sanders at a steal, all the way in the fifth round to end their 2025 NFL Draft.
"We obviously spend a lot of time with Shedeur throughout the process. He’s highly accurate, can play well from the pocket, very productive college career. We felt like it wasn’t necessarily the plan going into the weekend to select two quarterbacks, but as we talk about, we do believe in best player available, we do believe in positional value, and we didn’t necessarily expect him to be available in the fifth round," said general manager Andrew Berry. "We love adding competition to every position room and adding him to compete with the guys that are already in there. We felt like that was the appropriate thing to do."
The Colorado QB joins Gabriel and veterans Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett in Cleveland's quarterbacks room.
Sanders is ready to prove himself after his surprising fall to the fifth round.
"I'm just proving, I'm just proving Coach [Kevin] Stefanski and Mr. [Andrew] Berry that they were right. That's it. That they were right about picking me. That I'm a good decision, I'm a good draft pick for them to be able to come in there and do what I need to do," Sanders said.
Berry and Stefanski both said they anticipated a quarterback battle this summer for the starting role. Now, Sanders will be in the mix as well, looking to make a statement about his abilities after they were questioned in the way his draft stock plummeted.
That's something he's ready for.
"Get there and handle my business, do what I have to do. Whatever role that is, I'm just thankful for opportunity so that's all I can ask for. The rest is on me," he said.
