Shedeur Sanders went from top-overall-pick candidate to Day 3 selection in the 2025 NFL Draft. The Cleveland Browns finally ended his unprecedented draft-day slide by taking him with the No. 144 pick in the fifth round.
Still, his slide is the story of the 2025 NFL Draft, with everyone wondering why he plummeted down draft boards. Well, new details about Sanders’ pre-draft meetings with teams help explain his slide.
Shedeur Sanders Reportedly Disrespected NFL Coach During Team Meeting
Whether a smear campaign has been launched against Sanders since the NFL Scouting Combine or not, the onslaught of negative reports about his attitude was concerning.
Now, former Colorado head coach Rick Neuheise revealed during an episode of Sirius XM’s “Full Ride” that the quarterback disrespected an NFL coach by picking up and staying on a personal FaceTime call while in a team meeting.
“Rick Neuheisel enlightened listeners on Sirius XM’s Full Ride show on the College Sports Radio channel this morning that an NFL coach told him Shedeur Sanders took a personal FaceTime call during an interview with an NFL coach. Instead of ending that FaceTime call, he stayed on it during the interview,” Javier Morales wrote.
Rick Neuheisel enlightened listeners on Sirius XM's Full Ride show on the College Sports Radio channel this morning that an NFL coach told him Shedeur Sanders took a personal FaceTime call during an interview with an NFL coach. Instead of ending that FaceTime call, he stayed on…
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) April 26, 2025
Sanders’ visit to the New York Giants didn’t go well either.
“I’ve heard from two different sources that his visit with head coach Brian Daboll did not go particularly well,” McShay wrote in his Apr. 24 pre-draft edition of “The McShay Report.”
“The friction centered on some frustration between the two regarding Sanders’ preparation of an install package. It seems the interview process as a whole — beginning in Indianapolis, as I reported a few days after the Combine — has negatively affected the leaguewide perception of Sanders during the lead-up to this year’s draft,” he added.
McShay elaborated on what happened during an episode of his podcast “The McShay Report.”
“Shedeur’s not in play with the New York Giants [at all] as far as I’m told. Shedeur didn’t have a great interview with Brian Daboll in a private visit. An install package came in, the preparation wasn’t there for it. [Shedeur] got called out on it, didn’t like that. Brian didn’t appreciate him not liking it. … The interviews did not go well.”
Whether Neuheisel is talking about the same meeting or not, the quarterback didn’t seem to handle the pre-draft process well.
Sanders’ personality rubbed some people the wrong way throughout the pre-draft process. He admitted that during his team visits, he interviewed executives just as much as they interviewed him, and that didn’t sit well with everyone.
“When I go visit these coaches and when I go to all these different franchises, I ask them truly what I think and how I feel,” Sanders said. “Some get offended, some like it, some don’t. [I] make some people uncomfortable, some people invite that.”
Five quarterbacks were drafted ahead of Sanders: Cam Ward (Titans), Jaxson Dart (Giants), Tyler Shough (Saints), Jalen Milroe (Seahawks), and Dillon Gabriel (Browns). Cleveland picked Gabriel at No. 94 overall in the third round before circling back and adding Sanders at No. 144 in Round 5.
This was arguably the most shocking storyline in NFL Draft history, and Bayless wasn’t the only one confused, or in some cases, downright angry. Even President Donald Trump voiced his displeasure about Sanders’ drop.
Now, all eyes will be on Sanders to see whether he can win the Browns’ starting job and prove his doubters wrong.
Sanders’ NFL Draft Scouting Report
Sanders is an accurate and tough quarterback with a well-built frame and plenty of throws, hitting his targets in stride from each deep third of the field. He has a good enough arm to execute throws to targets in tight windows, and there’s a natural sense of timing that tells him where to place the ball right where only his receivers can get it.
That said, there’s some mental development that needs to take place for Sanders. He’s shown that he’s capable of making full-field reads, but he tends to play Superman when he doesn’t have the raw physical talent to make that work.
His arm, though acceptable, isn’t particularly special. He’s not a statue in the pocket, but his athleticism is average. These issues can see him try too hard to extend plays that he simply can’t make, resulting in sacks or poor throws.
Compared to the quarterbacks in the 2024 NFL Draft, I would argue Sanders would come in seventh as a prospect, ranking behind each of the six quarterbacks selected in the first round.
Sanders arguably has the highest floor of any quarterback in the class, and he has the tools to become a solid starter in the NFL. In the right system, he could lead a team to a playoff run.
Because of average physical tools, the ceiling likely does not go much further than that. There are also concerns about his attitude, as some teams view him as arrogant and didn’t appreciate how Sanders carried himself throughout the pre-draft process.
However, a respectable starting quarterback is a valuable asset in today’s game, and he is a low-risk, high-reward steal for the Browns in the fifth round.