Did NFL Teams Teach Shedeur Sanders a Lesson?

AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack

After projecting to be a top-five pick before the 2025 NFL draft, former Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders fell hard in the draft, being picked up by the Cleveland Browns in the fifth round with the 144th overall pick. The sports world was shocked after Sanders fell that late into the draft, considering he is the son of NFL Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, and many couldn't name other quarterbacks with better abilities than Sanders. Many sports analysts and journalists were left speechless with no explanation as to why teams passed on Sanders in the first and second rounds. Yet, I believe that the NFL wanted to teach Sanders a lesson in understanding that he is not bigger than an organization and that manipulating the system based on his team interviews gets you nowhere.

Considering the hype and anticipation surrounding fans who wanted to witness both Travis Hunter and Sanders get drafted, the second day of the NFL draft pulled 7.3 million viewers, the most since the 2020 NFL draft, and increased viewership by 40 percent compared to 2024. It is important to note that although the NFL values high viewership, the league does not favor team heroes or people who may present themselves as a threat due to star power that could potentially make them believe that they are bigger than the program.

One of the biggest reasons why Sanders fell so deep into the draft is because teams could've possibly been intimidated by the Sanders family as a whole. Considering Deion Sanders' legacy and understanding the behind-the-scenes of football from a head coach perspective, as well as an NFL player, Sanders' level of confidence and pride about his abilities carried over to his son, Shedeur. In multiple NFL draft interviews, Shedeur, along with his father, would put down the credibility of NFL talent evaluators and make it seem like he didn't need any validation that he is a great player from anybody. It has also been reported that Sanders bombed a handful of individual interviews with NFL teams to intentionally avoid being drafted by them and ensure that he will be drafted by a team he wants to play for.

The problem with this is that many players who enter the NFL draft just wish for a chance to play and be selected by ANY team. The Sanders family approach is different, flipping the script and believing that they have the power to call the shots in where they want to go and who they want to play for. History has shown that NFL organizations, along with their owners, tend to shy away from players who are not willing to “kiss the hand” or display any amount of arrogance towards them. As many top-tier quarterbacks do when preparing for the draft, Sanders opted out of throwing at the NFL combine but displayed a sense of arrogance in his responses as to why he skipped combine workouts, highlighting that he knows his worth already and that teams should already know what he's capable of.

Shedeur being the son of arguably one of the greatest athletes in any major sport, Deion's legacy and influence have impacted Shedeur's outlook on things and could've possibly installed the idea that he is destined to go the league whether teams want him to or not and that his name holds weight, a weight that teams cannot resist. The problem is that this weight is what may have killed Shedeur in the draft, leading teams to prefer to avoid the baggage that his name carries and the media attention that would focus solely on Sanders rather than the organization. Sanders' takeover of the media was on full display during his time in Colorado, appearing as if he was bigger than the team itself.

In the past, Deion Sanders has publicly stated that he advised his son not to play for certain teams and to pull an “Eli Manning” in refusing to play for a team that has a track record of failing to develop their quarterbacks. Ironically, the Cleveland Browns were one of the teams that Deion publicly spoke out against to bash their failure in showcasing and developing potential elite quarterbacks.

Overall, it's safe to say that the Sanders family has been humbled these past couple of days since the NFL draft. The Browns had passed on Sanders multiple times before drafting him in the fifth round, picking up Oregon's Dillon Gabriel in the third round. Despite drafting two quarterbacks, Sanders finding himself a spot on the field will not be easy or serve as a handout. In his first season without his father as his head coach in years, the potential of what Shedeur Sanders could be has been given an opportunity. Although other teams such as the Pittsburgh Steelers, New Orleans Saints, and New York Giants passed on Sanders, this will only add fuel to the fire about bringing back the mindset of having to PROVE that you are the best to