Reasons Behind Shedeur Sanders' NFL Draft Slide Revealed By Analyst

A respected college football analyst offered some insight as to why former Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders fell to the fifth round of the NFL Draft before landing with the Cleveland Browns. Ultimately, public perception may not have matched the NFL's perception.

Jul 10, 2024; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders speaks to the media during the Big 12 Media Days at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Candice Ward-Imagn Images | Candice Ward-Imagn Images

Former Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders' slide into the fifth round of the NFL Draft will likely be studied for years to come.

Never has the outside perception of an NFL prospect differed so drastically from how things ultimately played out in the draft. Even Sanders' greatest skeptics likely didn't believe the one-time projected top-five pick would hear his name called by the Cleveland Browns as the draft's No. 144 overall pick.

Regardless, that's what happened, and details as to why are slowly leaking out. Earlier this week, Fox Sports analyst and fellow former Colorado quarterback Joel Klatt offered his insight into why the New York Giants, New Orleans Saints, Pittsburgh Steelers and others passed on the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award winner from Colorado.

Apr 4, 2025; Boulder, CO, USA; Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders (2) looks to make a pass at the University of Colorado NFL Showcase at the CU Indoor Practice Facility. Mandatory Credit: Michael Ciaglo-Imagn Images | Michael Ciaglo-Imagn Images

Simply put, Klatt believes NFL teams saw Sanders as a backup instead of an immediate starter.

"Once you're viewed as a backup, then there's an entirely different angle that teams are gonna view and evaluate you with. The league clearly viewed Shedeur's film a certain way, which is there were a lot of flaws in it. That's totally fine and fair, and they were there. He does hold the ball too long and took a lot of sacks that he didn't need to take. Part of that — from a fear perspective from NFL organizations — was that he wasn't processing information quick enough. This is what I was hearing from some of the guys during the draft."

Although Colorado's offensive line certainly didn't make things easy, Sanders did take some unnecessary sacks and struggled throwing the ball out of bounds on dead plays, especially in 2023.

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At the same time, it's hard to argue that Sanders' tape was worse than the four quarterbacks selected ahead of him not named Cam Ward. Ole Miss' Jaxson Dart (Giants), Louisville's Tyler Shough (Saints), Alabama's Jalen Milroe (Seattle Seahawks) and Oregon's Dillon Gabriel (Browns) were all shockingly picked first, suggesting other factors were working against Sanders.

Still, Klatt shared his opinion that NFL teams with a quarterback need simply didn't view Sanders as worth spending an early pick on.

Here's what really happened to Shedeur Sanders 👀 pic.twitter.com/t48hmlJ3jr

— The Joel Klatt Show: A CFB Pod (@JoelKlattShow) April 28, 2025

"What's really happening is that they didn't view his film as quite good enough to be like for sure first-rounder, starter maybe even right away in the National Football League," Klatt said. "You can disagree or agree with that assertion, but that's clearly what a lot of these evaluators, in particular those evaluators with quarterback needs, thought. Once the Giants selected Jaxson Dart (No. 21 overall), I knew the Browns aren't even going to take him in the second round. Once your'e not being drafted as a starter, then you're looked at as a backup."

Sanders will now compete with Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, Gabriel and the injured Deshaun Watson for the trust of Browns coach Kevin Stefanski.