Shedeur Sanders was projected to be a first-round selection in the 2025 NFL Draft by almost every mock draft.
Some analysts had Ole Miss’ Jaxson Dart ahead of Sanders, but most evaluators had the Colorado passer as the second quarterback off the board behind Miami’s Cam Ward.
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Instead, Sanders fell all the way to the fifth round before the Cleveland Browns ended his fall. Interestingly, though, the Browns selected quarterback Dillon Gabriel just two rounds earlier.
Now, Sanders joins a quarterback room that includes Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, Deshaun Watson, and Gabriel. But there’s a possibility that Sanders doesn’t even make the final roster.
“Sanders landed in a place where he’s no sure thing to even make the roster, given that he’ll likely open training camp fourth on the depth behind Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett and Dillon Gabriel. (Deshaun Watson is also on the roster but currently rehabbing an Achilles injury.) But he says he’s willing to do whatever it takes to earn a roster spot,” Pro Football Talk’s Michael Davis wrote.
Additionally, general manager Andrew Berry made comments that imply he thinks Gabriel is a better prospect than Sanders.
“We talk oftentimes about quarterback being the most important position in the sport,” Berry told ESPN. “We obviously spent a lot of time with Shedeur throughout the process. He’s highly accurate, can play well from the pocket, very productive college career. And we felt like it wasn’t necessarily the plan going into the weekend to select two quarterbacks, but we do believe in best player available, we do believe in positional value. We didn’t necessarily expect him to be available in the fifth round. So, we love adding competition to every position room and adding him to compete with guys that are already in there, we felt like that was the appropriate thing to do.”
Watson is recovering from an Achilles injury and likely won’t factor into the competition. Flacco is currently projected to start, while Pickett is the backup and Gabriel is the third-stringer.
This means Sanders is starting as the fourth-stringer and the team would find it easier to cut a fifth-rounder than a third-rounder like Gabriel or a player they just traded for like Pickett.
The odds aren’t in Sanders’ favor, but much could chage this summer once practice starts. Either way, it will be fascinating to watch the Browns’ quarterback battle this summer.