Predicting Shedeur Sanders’ draft spot was one of the hottest topics all offseason. Sanders was originally in the running for the No. 1 overall pick along with fellow prospect Cam Ward. Then, Sanders began to slide.
Depending on the mock draft, he was projected to go anywhere from the top five to the second round. However, no one expected him to fall to the fifth round, but that’s exactly what happened.
The Cleveland Browns selected him with the 144th overall pick. They even took a quarterback ranked substantially lower than Sanders before him, selecting Dillon Gabriel in the third round.
This historic slide broke the internet. Fans, the media, and former and current players were sharply divided about everyone passing on Sanders. Hall of Fame wide receiver Michael Irvin was no exception.
Michael Irvin Slams NFL Teams for ‘Robbing’ Shedeur Sanders After Stunning Draft Slide
During a recent episode of Irvin’s podcast, he had strong words for the teams that didn’t believe in Sanders and shared his thoughts on why the slide happened.
“I think it’s a crime. The $50 million robbery of Shedeur Sanders, because that’s what I just witnessed, and that’s wow,” Irvin said.
Irvin said he isn’t defending the practice but insisted nepotism is rampant in professional sports. He pointed to LeBron James and his son, as well as numerous coaches who hire their sons as coordinators. Irvin suggested Sanders is being punished because people don’t like his father, Deion Sanders.
“Everywhere we’ve seen, everything we’ve seen, everybody that has seen him play said he is one or two in this draft class. The truth of the matter is, for Shedeur not to go one or two, three or four but in the fifth round and after five other quarterbacks, that’s mind-blowing. I said it last time, and I’ll say it again, the math ain’t mathing,” Irvin said.
Sanders is an elite-level talent, Irvin argued. He said he doesn’t care what quarterback a team already has, even Patrick Mahomes — you don’t leave this caliber of player sitting there for five rounds. That makes him believe it’s about something more than just talent.
“Maybe in their minds, they figure they tricked off that money to Deshaun, so they got to trick it back off Shedeur,” Irvin said, referencing the historically bad trade the Browns made for Deshaun Watson, which has left the team in a salary cap mess. “I sure would like to know how they knew he would still be there in the fifth round?”
Irvin added that maybe “everybody’s working together because we want to teach him a lesson.” Still, he feels Sanders is a valuable asset, even just to hold onto. If a team’s starting quarterback gets hurt early, the Browns now have a tradeable commodity.
Sanders’ bank account took a substantial hit because of the fall to the fifth round, which is why Irvin feels he was robbed. The NFL has a set rookie pay scale, and because of it, Gabriel could make as much as $6.22 million more over four years, including a $1.7 million signing bonus. Sanders, meanwhile, will earn about $4.5 million over four years, compared to the $45 million he could’ve made had he been a top-10 pick.
On paper, the deal looks like a win for the Browns, considering many analysts thought they would use a first-round pick on him. But only time will tell who the real winners are.
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