Shedeur Sanders' Former Colorado Teammate Shares Great Reaction To Stellar NFL Debut

Current Colorado Buffaloes wide receiver Omarion Miller said what nearly everyone was thinking while watching Cleveland Browns rookie Shedeur Sanders thrive in his NFL preseason debut Friday evening.

With over 100 passing yards and two touchdowns before halftime, Sanders looked more like an experienced NFL quarterback going through a preseason tuneup than a fifth-round pick making their first professional start. The former Colorado quarterback appeared comfortable in the pocket and excelled at extending plays, two traits that Miller witnessed firsthand during their two seasons together in Boulder.

Omarion Miller Reacts To Shedeur Sanders' Cleveland Browns Debut

Shedeur Sanders Former Colorado Teammate Reaction NFL Debut Buffaloes Omarion Miller Cleveland Browns Preseason Draft Boulder — Aug 8, 2025; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders (12) looks downfield for a receiver during the second half against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Miller likely wasn't surprised by his former quarterback's immediate NFL success after watching him compete the past two years. But what does remain surprising to Miller is how Sanders inexplicably fell to the fifth round of April's draft.

During Sanders' preseason debut, Miller made his feelings known in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

"5th round tho (laughing emoji), cmon now," Miller tweeted during the game.

5th round tho 😂 cmon now
— Omarion✞ (@omarionmiller19) August 9, 2025

Sanders was a projected first-round pick heading into the draft but was passed over 143 times before landing with the Browns. Outside of Miami's Cam Ward landing with the Tennessee Titans at No. 1 overall, few expected Ole Miss' Jaxson Dart, Louisville's Tyler Shough, Alabama's Jalen Milroe and Oregon's Dillon Gabriel to find a home before Sanders, but that's exactly what happened.

Although he must beat out Gabriel and veterans Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett for playing time this season, Sanders has found an opportunity in Cleveland. The Browns' initial preseason depth chart at quarterback featured Flacco at No. 1, followed by Pickett, Gabriel and Sanders.

“I’m not really concerned about that at all,” Sanders said about his lack of practice reps. “I only can control what I’m able to do and get out there. And this was reps for me. This was a lot of reps, overall, for me. So, I guess this is my practice. And I feel like practice went good today. We won.”

Deion Sanders, Others React To Shedeur's Debut

Miller wasn't the only Buff watching the Cleveland Browns closely on Friday evening. Sanders' father, Colorado coach Deion Sanders, shared his excitement throughout the game on X.

Yes Lawd! Yes! @ShedeurSanders
— COACH PRIME (@DeionSanders) August 8, 2025

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Cleveland coach Kevin Stefanski was also pleased by Shedeur's performance and plans on giving his rookie quarterback a healthy number of reps moving forward.

"The situations were invaluable for Shedeur (Sanders), for all of our offense," Stefanski said, per the Browns. "We got a third-and-1 where he had a quarterback sneak. There's just a lot of football and that's by design with him getting a ton of reps in this game, and he'll get a ton of reps next week as well. That's all part of our development of our young players."