The story of the 2025 NFL Draft finally has a happy ending after Shedeur Sanders’ saw his stunning slide halted as he was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the fifth round.
Sanders was viewed by many as the second-best quarterback in a poor 2025 class at the game’s most important position, but slipped out of the first round on Thursday as the likes of the New Orleans Saints and Pittsburgh Steelers passed on the chance to take the former Colorado Buffaloes star despite having needs under center. The New York Giants traded back into the first round, but took Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart rather than Sanders.
But the more remarkable developments came on the second night on Friday as both the second and third rounds passed without Sanders hearing his name called. Three more quarterbacks went ahead of the son of Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, whose significant profile as the Colorado head coach was raised as a possible reason for a precipitous fall.
The Browns selected Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel in the third round but, after the fourth round came and went on Saturday with Sanders remaining on the board, Cleveland made the move to trade up in the fifth round and end his agonizing wait.
Cleveland traded a fifth-rounder (166 overall) and a sixth-rounder (192) to the Seattle Seahawks to move up to pick 144 and add Sanders to a very crowded quarterback room.
Shedeur making a splash pic.twitter.com/ROuBKgNI8u
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) April 26, 2025
Indeed, with Sanders joining Gabriel on the depth chart, the Browns now have five quarterbacks on their roster. Cleveland brought back Joe Flacco in free agency and traded for former first-round pick Kenny Pickett.
Deshaun Watson is also still on the roster, but there is a strong chance he will miss the entire 2025 season after having surgery on a re-rupture of his Achilles tendon in January. Controversially signed to a fully guaranteed contract in March 2022 following a trade with the Houston Texans, Watson has likely played his last snap for the Browns.
The Watson trade set the Browns back several seasons. Flacco is expected to be stopgap this season, but the long-term question for the Browns surrounds their lack of an answer at quarterback.
Despite going two rounds after Gabriel, Sanders will now get the opportunity to prove he is the right man to take the Browns forward following the 2025 season.
Questions will be asked for some time about why Sanders slipped so far and why Cleveland felt the need to take Gabriel first, but an agonizing draft weekend could be just the start of an incredible journey for Sanders.
