Shedeur Sanders’ long wait ends when Browns take him in the 5th round of the NFL draft

A screen shows Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders after being chosen by the Cleveland Browns with the 144th overall pick during the third day of the NFL football draft, Saturday, April 26, 2025, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson) (Jeff Roberson/AP)

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Shedeur Sanders dealt with his shockingly long wait to get drafted by relying on the same approach that made him an NFL prospect in the first place.

The Colorado quarterback wouldn’t let himself get down about anything, even when he received a prank call while waiting to hear that a team had selected him. When the Cleveland Browns finally took him in the fifth round Saturday -- four rounds later than he was expected to go -- the son of Hall of Famer Deion Sanders reacted by dancing and jumping into a swimming pool.

“That’s what it’s about,” Sanders said. “You can’t be up too low or anything. You got to be able to celebrate. When we score a touchdown, we celebrate for a little bit and now it’s back to, it’s time to work, it’s time to go. All it is, is a football game to me, and that’s how I view it.”

Sanders wasn’t selected until the 144th overall pick, a stunning fall for the most recognizable player in this draft class.

Draft forecasts generally rated Sanders behind only Miami’s Cam Ward -- who went first overall to the Tennessee Titans -- among quarterbacks in this class. Five quarterbacks were taken before him instead, with one of them going to Cleveland when the Browns picked Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel in the third round.

“It wasn’t necessarily the plan going into the weekend to select two quarterbacks,” Browns general manager Andrew Berry said. “But you know we do believe in best player available and positional value. And you know we didn’t necessarily expect (Sanders) to be available in the fifth round.”

The Browns moved up to take Sanders, trading their own fifth-round pick (No. 166 overall) and a sixth-round selection (No. 192) to Seattle in exchange for No. 144.

After such a long delay, Sanders let out his emotions once he finally got the call.

With his brother Shilo live-streaming the proceedings on Twitch, Sanders could be seen putting on a Browns cap and dancing at his family’s Texas home. Another video shared on X by the NFL showed Sanders jumping into the pool.

“I’m just thankful for opportunity, so that’s all I can ask for,” Sanders said. “The rest is on me.”

The history of the draft includes plenty of stories of quarterbacks waiting much longer than expected to get drafted. Sometimes it ultimately worked out just fine for them.

Dan Marino was the sixth quarterback taken in the famous 1983 draft class and went 27th overall to Miami, where he would spend his entire Hall of Fame career. Aaron Rodgers was supposed to go among the first few picks in 2005 but went 24th to Green Bay, where he went on to win four MVP awards and a Super Bowl.

More recently, Will Levis was considered a near-certain first-round pick in 2023 but slipped into the second round before Tennessee took him at No. 33 overall.

But it’s hard to come up with a fall as steep as this one.

Sanders was projected to go in the first round after he finished eighth in the Heisman Trophy balloting and threw for a school-record 4,134 yards last season. He instead found himself getting passed over as other quarterbacks got selected.

The New York Giants traded up to get the 25th overall pick on Thursday but opted for Mississippi’s Jaxson Dart. New Orleans selected Louisville’s Tyler Shough in the second round. In the third round, Seattle chose Alabama’s Jalen Milroe and Cleveland took Gabriel.

Sanders was asked Saturday how his tumble down the draft board might fuel him as he starts his pro career.

“I’ve just got to prove and show what I’m capable of,” Sanders said. “But what fuels me is my purpose in life and understanding the route that we’re going to have to take. Understanding that I was able to get an opportunity when a lot of people didn’t want to give me an opportunity. So that’s what I’m truly thankful for. So that’s what fuels me.”

Sanders now is part of a crowded Browns quarterback room as Deshaun Watson is expected to sit out the upcoming season with a torn Achilles tendon. The group also includes Kenny Pickett, 40-year-old Joe Flacco and Gabriel, who was responsible for a Football Bowl Subdivision-record 188 total career touchdowns during a six-year career that also included stops at Central Florida and Oklahoma.

Cleveland is the first team to draft two quarterbacks in the first five rounds since 2012, when Washington took Robert Griffin III with the second-overall pick and Kirk Cousins in the fourth round.

“I know I’m going to fit in perfect,” Sanders said. “I feel like it’s first getting in, showing the respect to the vets, showing them I’m here ready to work, show the coaches and have them understand I’m here ready to work so they can actually understand the real me.”

One criticism of Sanders was that he was sacked 94 times in his two seasons at Colorado. Concerns also arose about his arm strength. There also were worries about how he would adapt to playing for someone other than his father.

Another potential wild card was how Sanders’ outspoken father might react if he believed a team wasn’t developing Shedeur effectively enough.

Deion Sanders had talked in some old interviews about having an idea where he’d want his sons to play. He sometimes even invoked the name of Eli Manning, who got traded to the New York Giants during the 2004 draft after saying he didn’t want to play for the San Diego Chargers, who had selected him with the No. 1 pick that year.

Some of those issues may have pushed Sanders down some draft boards.

“After we watched the first, second round go by and my name wasn’t called or anything, it was like, `OK, all we need is an opportunity,’” Sanders said. “So it really didn’t matter what pick, what round, or anything.”

Some other familiar names also got taken Saturday.

Cam Skattebo, the running back who led Arizona State to a surprising College Football Playoff appearance, went in the fourth round to the New York Giants. Tennessee running back Dylan Sampson, the 2024 Southeastern Conference offensive player of the year, went later in the fourth round to Cleveland. Syracuse’s Kyle McCord, who set an Atlantic Coast Conference single-season record by throwing for 4,779 yards last year, went to Philadelphia in the sixth round.

The two quarterbacks from the most recent CFP championship game went in the sixth round, with Pittsburgh taking Ohio State’s Will Howard at No. 185 and Indianapolis selecting Notre Dame’s Riley Leonard at No. 189. Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers, whose team lost to Ohio State in the semifinals, went to Miami in the seventh round.

Howard was one of seven Ohio State players to get selected Saturday, meaning 14 players from the reigning national champions were drafted. That left the Buckeyes one shy of the record for a seven-round draft, as Georgia produced 15 draft picks in 2022.