This has likely been the longest weekend of Shedeur Sanders’ life. Heading into the NFL Draft, all signs pointed to him being a first-round pick—second round at the very worst. But what actually happened was far from expected. Sanders didn’t hear his name called at all on night two, leaving many people speechless and baffled.
In the third round, the Cleveland Browns—who were widely assumed to need a quarterback—chose Dillon Gabriel over Sanders. Ultimately, it came down to fit.
“What he has done throughout his college career is impressive. He’s a really good quarterback and an impressive young man. Sometimes fit comes into play, and there are still four more rounds in the draft. It’s less about where you get picked and more about what you do after you get picked. He’s going to find himself in a really good spot,” said Andrew Berry.
Several hours later, the Browns made the decision to trade up and select Sanders in the fifth round, setting up an intriguing quarterback situation in Cleveland. On night two, Mel Kiper Jr. was visibly stunned by Sanders being passed over.
“I think it's disgusting. I don't understand what the heck's going on with this... I don't see, outside of [not having] the rocket arm, 4.6 speed, [6'3", 230-pound frame], what is [Shedeur Sanders] lacking? Somebody's gonna have to explain that one to me,” Kiper said.
Once Sanders was finally picked on Saturday, Kiper doubled down, offering a sharp take on the reason behind the fall—calling it fake news.
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“The NFL gets it! They know everything! No, they don't! The guys who have slid have done pretty well... there's a lot of fake news out there surrounding the Sanders family with Shedeur and Deion,” Kiper stated.
Rumors had circulated that Deion Sanders was overplaying his hand with teams interested in Shedeur. However, it was later revealed that this wasn’t true at all.