Shedeur Sanders continues to be a media focal point after falling to the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft. The quarterback landed with the Cleveland Browns and has to prove himself in the team’s crowded quarterback room.
Sanders considers Tom Brady as one of his idols, and the seven-time Super Bowl champion had a similar rough start to his NFL career when he was drafted 199th overall. However, just like Brady did rise to be the greatest in history, legendary tight end Shannon Sharpe believes Sanders can do the same.
Sharpe Argues Shedeur Sanders Destined To Succeed
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. Concerns about his attitude and some poor pre-draft interviews didn’t help his case.
No one saw a fifth-round slide coming, and the Browns mercifully ended his suffering. However, they did so after selecting Dillon Gabriel 50 picks earlier. Gabriel was projected as a late Day 3 pick, but the Browns used a third-round selection on the Oregon product.
And Gabriel isn’t the Sanders’ only competition for the starting quarterback job in Cleveland. Second-year QB Kenny Pickett and 40-year-old veteran Joe Flacco are also there, but Sharpe feels it’ll be the latter who wins the competition before Sanders takes over from him.
“Only one quarterback can play,” Sharpe said on NightCap. “We understand that. Hopefully, he [Flacco] can impart some wisdom. Joe Flacco’s been in this thing a very very long time.”
Sharpe appeared to be throwing shade at Pickett and said, “I don’t know if I’m gonna get too much from him.” Co-host Chad Johnson put it more bluntly, and, said “You already know who’s the best. So Flacco is going to be the starter at some point. If Flacco is not playing, well, Shedeur Sanders will step in and be the quarterback of the future.
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Sharpe reiterated that the cream always rose to the top, and so would Sanders eventually at some point. He urged the Colorado alum to follow in the footsteps of Brady and be ready for an opportunity whenever it presents itself.
“Cream always rises to the top, it never settles on the bottom. And if Shedeur is what he believes he is, and his supporters believe he is, when the opportunity presents itself, he’ll get in there and he won’t look back.
“Same thing happened with Tom Brady. Tom Brady came in as the sixth-round draft pick. – He didn’t play his rookie year, and he was sitting [on] the bench at the start of his sophomore year. Guy gets hurt, he goes in and he doesn’t look back.”
Brady was a sixth-round pick and turned that into seven championships. As a fifth-round pick, Sanders is certainly in a similarly tough position heading into his rookie season. Brady’s message to Sanders was simple: “It doesn’t matter where you’re picked.” It’s up to Sanders to prove himself.