Shedeur Sanders Silences NFL Draft Critics—Were Fans Misled by Negative Hype?

The narrative and message was clear from April's NFL Draft, Shedeur Sanders wasn't the right pick in the first two days. That's what the NFL told us, but his early performance shows otherwise.

Jun 10, 2025; Berea, OH, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders (12) talk to the media during minicamp at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

Have we been had, hoodwinked, bamboozled, led astray, and run amok by the NFL? Those coaches, general managers, and decision-makers who spoke negatively about Shedeur Sanders must be eating crow. Truly, an HBCU football product couldn't have this type of effect on the masses, could he?

"Everything in life in any aspect is gonna be a challenge," Sanders said in his post-practice interview. "So it's just, are you going to be the one to overcome the challenge? Are you going to let that challenge get you?"

His name is prominent — not Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, and Dillon Gabriel — it's Shedeur Sanders who has captured the headlines since we watched in disbelief how his draft stock plunged before our eyes.

"I got time to be able to grow and mature," Sanders explained. "And be able to understand the ins and outs of the defenses and be able to get the good insight from the vets in the room."

Nevertheless, a fifth-round draft pick typically shouldn't have such an immediate impact on the NFL as Shedeur Sanders has had. Once projected to be a top-five overall selection in the 2025 NFL Draft, he ultimately fell to the 144th overall choice by the Cleveland Browns.

The name Shedeur Sanders has become a dominant force and marketing dream for the National Football League. His rookie jersey remains among the top-selling jerseys of all players and the best-selling of those in his rookie class, including Travis Hunter.

Sanders has been featured in numerous sports articles, filling crowded social media feeds, and appearing in a host of podcasts and videos — not the other guys. And in some regards, not even the NFL's top 2025 pick, Cam Ward.

"So life is just based on how you view different things. So you could view things as you're not getting reps in a negative way, or you could view it as, okay, when is my time to get out there? Let's be proactive. Let's get warm. Let's get going. So there's no excuses because when you get out there, nobody cares how many reps you got."

The former Jackson State signal-caller's performance at Brown's minicamps and OTAs has exceeded expectations — although he's been playing with mostly backups. However, it hasn't been a surprise to those who have followed Sanders from his first start as an HBCU quarterback.

Sanders spoke about building an NFL-like confidence: So when you go on the field, I already have a different type of confidence, but by myself regardless. But now when you go out there, you know, the ins and outs and everything, then it's a whole different type of confidence, you know, you go out there with."

Today, Sanders has the Browns coaching staff in a predicament. Veterans Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett are the presumptive No. 1 and No. 2 quarterbacks, respectively, for the Browns. The team invested a 3rd-round pick on Dillon Gabriel, who also has been looking good in the minicamps but hasn't equaled Sanders' ball placement and field awareness.

A reporter asked, "Do you feel like you're taking advantage of those opportunities?" Sanders replied, "Every time the ball hit the ground, I feel a little bit of unsuccess. So I don't really feel. I don't really feel great whenever I know it's a completion on the field and I don't get to it. So that's what I'm hard on myself about, and that's what I want to make sure. I always improve every day. And, you know, football is always going to be good and bad, so you just clean up the bad stuff one. One day at a time."

More practice, more training, and more development will be critical for Shedeur this summer. Will he pressure himself to get to perfect each time the Browns give him reps?

We shall see.

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