Shedeur Sanders endured the highest-profile free fall in the NFL Draft ever seen. Sanders was in the conversation for the No. 1 overall pick, but then saw his draft stock do nothing but fall after the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine.
The Cleveland Browns ended his suffering when they made him the 144th overall pick, to which head coach Kevin Stefanski recently discussed his new quarterback on the “We Need To Talk” podcast.
Browns HC Says Shedeur Sanders Is ‘Willing To Work’
Sanders endured arguably the most precipitous fall in NFL Draft history. He balled out in his final college season at Colorado, throwing for 4,134 yards and 37 touchdowns in 2024, but questions remained about Sanders’ arm strength and athleticism.
Then, concerns about his attitude and some poor pre-draft interviews didn’t help. Most pundits thought those questions could cause him to fall outside the top 10, but nobody saw a fifth-round slide coming.
The Browns gave Sanders a home, and he’s already made good on his vow to inspire local kids by showing up at multiple local Cleveland high schools. This was a heartwarming move by the Colorado product, but he’ll have to refocus on football with Cleveland’s rookie minicamp about to begin.
Cleveland drafted Dillon Gabriel 50 picks ahead of Sanders, and acquired Kenny Pickett and Joe Flacco earlier this offseason. Sanders has a lot of work to do to prove himself on and off the field, but he has to prove himself to his new head coach first.
Stefanski recently appeared on CBS Sports’ “We Need To Talk” and fielded questions from hosts Jenny Dell and Andrea Kremer. Dell asked, “How do you handle a quarterback and a player who might be one of the most scrutinized fifth-round picks to ever come out of the draft?”
Stefanski answered, “I’m really excited about Shedeur, and the truth is, Jenny, that once you’re in the building, nobody really cares where you were drafted. First round, fifth round, undrafted. I’ve been around so many great players that weren’t drafted. There’s guys in the first round that we know are great, and some guys that don’t make it out of the first round.
“How you end up on this team is really not important to me or to us. Shedeur’s a player that we spent so much time with in the pre-draft process, getting to know him. Whether it was in our building. In Boulder, Colorado. Traveling down to the East-West Shrine Game. Then you watch all his tape, he’s got a ton of tape from Jackson State to Colorado, so we’ve done a lot of homework on Shedeur. I’m excited about having him in the building.”
Kremer then asked, “He fell in the draft, obviously, you guys, the Browns themselves passed on him six times. Why do you think he lasted until the fifth round?”
Stefanski responded, “It’s up to every team to make those decisions when they’re taking guys and what positions they value, that type of thing. Clearly, he has the talent to go higher in the draft. He didn’t.
“That’s our job right now to dive into the things that can help him. None of these guys are finished products, and Shedeur certainly has things he can work on. In terms of the person, in terms of the kid who’s willing to work, I think that’s who we’re getting. We’re getting a guy who really is not so concerned about where he landed in this draft, but he is willing to put in the work.”
Sanders has to beat out Gabriel at least before he can attempt to win the starting job. It’s a long road for him to see the field in 2025, but Sanders’ head coach believes that he’s ready to put in the work.
