Cleveland Browns

Despite a shocking slide in the NFL Draft, the Cleveland Browns believe they got more than a fifth-round quarterback with Shedeur Sanders.

Per Fox Sports' Henry McKenna, one scout said Sanders' hurt his draft stock off the field, but is still better than a fifth-rounder.

"He probably misplayed his hand during the process," the scout said. "But he is better than where he got drafted."

In the months leading up to the draft, there were debates over whether Sanders could be the first quarterback off the board in 2025. While that hype cooled in recent weeks, many still projected Sanders to be a first-rounder, if not a top-10 pick.

Ultimately, he was neither as he fell all the way to the fifth round.

The slide wasn't a reflection of his talent as he threw for 4,134 yards and 37 touchdowns at Colorado a year ago. Instead, it had more to do with how he approached the draft process.

According to CBS Sports' Jonathan Jones, Sanders "more or less sandbagged" interviews with teams he didn't want to play for. Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer gave more details about Sanders' rough interviews.

"When asked to explain [an interception], Sanders didn’t take blame," Breer wrote. "And as they dove deeper into it, and how it might relate to the NFL level, Sanders simply concluded that maybe he and the staff he was talking to might not be a match."

Breer added that a team intentionally placed mistakes in an install and Sanders didn't catch them.

"A coach called him on it, and the resulting exchange wasn’t pretty," Breer wrote.

Sanders is one of the most unique draft prospects we've seen in recent years because of both his fame and his skill. His attitude off the field clearly did him no favors in the draft process, but he'll look to prove he is better than your typical fifth-round quarterback.

Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders' fall to the fifth round of the 2025 NFL draft is still generating debates around the NFL, but one insider didn't mince words.

"I think it’s the biggest slide in NFL history," a league source told Henry McKenna of Fox Sports.

Sanders was expected to be a first-round pick until reports about his lackluster pre-draft interviews raised questions about his draft stock. Still, no one predicted that he would've fallen all the way to the fifth round. He was the sixth quarterback off the board and the second signal-caller selected by the Browns, who used a third-round pick to add Oregon QB Dillon Gabriel.

"He’s a good person, but people didn’t like the personality," another league source told McKenna regarding Sanders and his draft process. "He’s the biggest celebrity since Johnny Manziel to enter the draft."

However, as McKenna pointed out, Sanders didn't share the same character issues that Manziel did when he entered the draft in 2014. The trait that he does share with Manziel is his celebrity status before even entering the league, and that may have worked against him.

"Sanders has the kind of energy and personality that fills up a room. But that big personality didn’t always mesh with NFL executives. And like Manziel, Sanders didn’t come out of his pre-draft interviews with impressive results, multiple sources confirmed to FOX Sports," McKenna wrote.

It won't be easy for Sanders to prove his detractors wrong as he works his way up from being QB5 on the Browns, but he will surely be driven to show that he should've been selected higher in this year's draft.

Falling into the fifth round of the 2025 NFL draft hasn't hurt Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders' popularity.

Fanatics told cllct's Darren Rovell on Wednesday that Sanders currently has the top-selling jersey of all players selected in the draft.

That includes Tennessee Titans quarterback Cam Ward, who was the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, as well as Sanders' former teammate, Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter, the No. 2 overall pick.

It has not yet been confirmed which number Sanders will wear for the Browns next season. The quarterback wore No. 2 at Colorado, but the Browns shared an edited image of him wearing No. 5 on Saturday.

Sanders didn't hear his name called until Day 3 of the draft, when the Browns brought him in with the No. 144 selection.

According to Spotrac projections, Sanders will earn at least $40 million less than Ward and Hunter on his rookie deal due to his tumble down the draft.

Sanders' popularity at Colorado helped him earn a $6.5 million On3 NIL valuation, second only to Texas quarterback Arch Manning on On3's NIL rankings, through partnerships with brands including Nike and Beats by Dre.

He could potentially look to use that popularity as another source of income as he prepares to enter his first NFL season and vies to start for the Browns.

Deshaun Watson is still on the roster but figures to miss extended time following another Achilles injury. That leaves Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, 2025 third-rounder Dillon Gabriel and Sanders on track for a heated competition this spring and summer.

Add Travis Kelce to the list of people praising the Cleveland Browns' selection of Shedeur Sanders in the fifth round of the 2025 NFL draft.

On the latest episode of the New Heights podcast (starts at 24:24 mark), Kelce explained he "loves" the Sanders pick for Cleveland because the team gets a "swag champ that works his ass off, that has something to prove now" and "he's got that chip on his shoulder."

Even though Kelce plays for the Kansas City Chiefs, he did acknowledge there is some homerism involved with his adoration for this selection since he was born and raised in Cleveland Heights.

There aren't many people who had anything negative to say about the Browns getting Sanders with the 144th overall pick.

B/R's Kristopher Knox wrote that for all of the outside noise surrounding Sanders and his pre-draft process, being able to get a "borderline first-round talent" in the fifth round "is a steal under almost any circumstance."

It also comes with no risk at all for the Browns. Sanders' rookie contract is worth an estimated $4.65 million over four years. They could easily get out of the deal if things don't pan out.

If Sanders ends up hitting since he generally regarded as a borderline first-round talent, the Browns will have one of the best bargain contracts in the NFL at a time when they are badly in need of a low-cost option at quarterback with Deshaun Watson's deal still on the books.

Unfortunately for Kelce, he won't get to see Sanders in person this season since the Browns aren't among Kansas City's opponents in 2025.

Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders faced criticisms for his pre-draft interviews, and new details have emerged about where he went wrong.

Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer detailed multiple instances in which Sanders failed to impress prospective teams. In one meeting at the NFL Scouting Combine, a team questioned him on an interception that he threw while he was at Colorado.

"When asked to explain it, Sanders didn’t take blame," Breer stated. "And as they dove deeper into it, and how it might relate to the NFL level, Sanders simply concluded that maybe he and the staff he was talking to might not be a match."

In another meeting, Sanders failed to identify the mistakes intentionally placed in an install that he was supposed to study beforehand. After he was called out on it, "the resulting exchange wasn’t pretty," per Breer.

While Sanders' lackluster pre-draft interviews were expected to slightly hurt his draft stock, no one expected him to fall all the way to the fifth round before the Browns mercifully drafted him. He was the sixth quarterback off the board, and he's the second rookie signal-caller heading to Cleveland after the team selected Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel in the third round.

Breer noted that Sanders' approach to the interviews indicated that he was "trying to steer himself away from certain places." While a top player like Eli Manning successfully got his wish of being sent to the New York Giants over two decades ago, Breer pointed out that Sanders "wasn’t considered the prospect he was built up to be by the people who matter—the ones who were doing the picking over the weekend."

In addition to the questions about his attitude, evaluators reportedly didn't view Sanders as a first-round talent because of multiple holes in his game.

"He’s not a great athlete," Breer stated. "He didn’t show great arm talent. He had bad habits in taking unnecessary sacks and bailing out of the back of the pocket. He had trouble playing on time in general and did things off-schedule that weren’t going to translate to the NFL."

Sanders will certainly be motivated to prove his doubters wrong as he begins his NFL career with the Browns.

Before the Cleveland Browns made the trade that sent the No. 2 pick in the draft to the Jacksonville Jaguars, they left themselves an opening to keep the pick if they had the chance to take Cam Ward.

Per The Athletic's Michael Silver, the Browns-Jaguars trade had been in place since April 7 with a contingency that Cleveland would back out if the Tennessee Titans either passed on Ward at No. 1 or they deal the top pick to another team that also bypassed Ward for a different player.

The Titans ended any questions about potentially trading down on April 22 when general manager Mike Borgonzi told reporters they were not going to move off the top pick despite interest from other teams.

"As we got towards the end of the process, we decided that ultimately we're going to stay," Borgonzi said.

All indications for weeks leading up to the draft were that Ward was going to be selected by the Titans. There was no harm in the Browns holding out hope something might change to give them an opportunity to add him.

Instead, things worked out in a way that both the Jaguars and Browns can be happy with. Jacksonville received the No. 2 pick and used it to take Travis Hunter, who is expected to play primarily wide receiver to start his career. His defensive snaps will expand as he gets more comfortable in the scheme.

The Jaguars also received picks 104 and 200 in the trade. The Browns got back picks Nos. 5, 36 and 126 this year, plus Jacksonville's 2026 first-round selection.

Cleveland used the fifth pick to beef up the defensive line with Mason Graham, adding him to a group headlined by Myles Garrett.

Even though Browns fans might be disappointed in missing out on Ward and not getting to watch Hunter play for their team, the trade was a good piece of business for a franchise that needed to replenish their talent pool coming off a 3-14 record in 2024.

The Athletic's Dianna Russini believes the Cleveland Browns only considered drafting quarterback Shedeur Sanders after he fell into the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft.

"I did not ever get any intel that the Cleveland Browns had him ranked high on their board," Russini said at the 14:45 mark of Tuesday's Scoop City podcast. "I think they saw that he was available in the fifth round, they met, they discussed it, and they went for it. They took a chance that maybe he can turn into something and be a player."

The Browns traded the No. 166 and No. 192 selections to select Sanders on Saturday at No. 144 overall.

General manager Andrew Berry indicated in his post-draft press conference that the Browns had considered drafting Sanders heading into Day 3.

"We live by our board, and we felt like he was a good solid prospect at the most important position. We felt like it got to a point where he was probably mispriced relative to the draft," Berry said. "The acquisition cost was pretty light, and we think he's a guy who can outproduce his draft slot."

Berry continued: "Once it got to a point where it felt like it was a pretty steep discount, we just felt like hey, especially relative to the alternative ways that we could use the selection, this made the most sense."

The decision came the day after the Browns used the No. 94 pick to draft former Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel.

Berry emphasized the Browns' intentionality in drafting Gabriel in Round 3, telling reporters the franchise has "spent a lot of time with Dillon throughout this process" by bringing him to Cleveland after the NFL scouting combine and a holding private visit and workouts with him in Oregon.

The Browns already added Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett earlier this offseason after the January news that Deshaun Watson had re-injured his Achilles tendon, calling into question his availability for the 2025 season.

When asked if Sanders would be given the chance to compete for the QB1 position next fall, Berry said on Saturday the Browns "expect every player to compete, simple as that."

Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski added that the Browns may not divide first-team reps evenly between the four quarterbacks, but that the team feels "confident that we'll have a plan that is fair to each player, and fair to the team as well."

There is still some speculation over what caused Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders' slide to the fifth round of the 2025 NFL draft, and some feel that he could've benefited from having an experienced NFL agent.

During Tuesday's episode of Scoop City (12:00 mark), The Athletic's Dianna Russini reported that Sanders' lack of proper representation hindered his ability to navigate the pre-draft process the right way.

"I did have a team share with me this morning that they wondered as an organization if Shedeur had an NFL agent with experience with a top quarterback entering the draft, if that agent would've provided maybe a little bit more insight into the preparation, into the process over the three months leading into the draft after their season, that way those interviews go well," Russini said.

Rather than hiring a traditional NFL agent, Sanders was guided by his father, Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, throughout the lead-up to this year's draft. Multiple reports revealed that the 23-year-old rubbed teams the wrong way during his interviews due to his overconfidence, which is something that could've been rectified if he had an agent who could've prepared him to approach things differently.

"I'm not blaming Deion, we know of a lot of players who don't have agents. But I think in this situation, I think it could've helped him have a voice of someone who's done this before more recently," Russini said.

As reports continue to surface regarding Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders' massive slide to the fifth round of the 2025 NFL draft, his father Deion Sanders addressed the speculation in a cryptic manner.

"A lie don’t care who tells it or repeats it. Its goal is to be heard. The truth could be standing right in front of [you] consistently for years but [you] don’t see it because a lie is in your mind. The Truth may not be as popular as a lie but the Truth wins in the end," Sanders wrote in a tweet.

Prognosticators universally viewed Shedeur Sanders as a potential first-round draft pick after his strong career at Colorado. Instead, five quarterbacks were selected before him before the Browns used their fifth-round pick to draft him. Cleveland even passed on him two rounds earlier when it selected Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel in the third.

Many have been trying to figure out an explanation for Sanders' tumble down the draft board. ESPN's Dan Graziano reported during Monday's episode of Get Up that evaluators weren't revealing their true assessments of the 23-year-old leading up to the draft.

"The theory was that people inside these buildings were kind of scared to give their honest opinion of him because of the potential for criticism, the potential of Deion, and everything that's around Shedeur, to kind of come down on them," Graziano said.

The Athletic's Mike Jones also reported that there was a negative perception of Sanders' attitude, supporting reports that he rubbed teams the wrong way during the pre-draft interview process.

"Sanders instilled in his son a strong sense of self-belief," Jones stated. "But because the Prime Time way borders on the extreme, Deion also passed onto Shedeur an off-putting air that NFL talent evaluators perceived as arrogance and entitlement."

It will take quite some time to determine whether teams were right to pass up on Sanders, but the Browns are certainly hoping that he will have a productive career in the NFL.

After a forgettable 2024 campaign, Diontae Johnson has a new team heading into the 2025 season.

Per NFL Network's Mike Garafolo, Johnson agreed to a deal with the Cleveland Browns after a visit with the team on Monday.

Johnson, a third-round draft pick by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2019, had a chaotic season in 2024. After being traded to the Carolina Panthers ahead of the season, he was traded to the Baltimore Ravens in October in return for a 2025 fifth-round pick.

Upon arrival in Baltimore, it quickly became apparent that he wasn't a good fit for the team. He logged just one reception in his first four games and was suspended by the team in December after refusing to come into a game against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Shortly after after the suspension, he was waived by the Ravens.

After his time in Baltimore, Johnson was picked up by the Houston Texans, by his stint was once again short-lived as he was waived on January 14 after the team's playoff win against the Los Angeles Chargers.

The Ravens claimed Johnson off waivers, but it was strictly a "procedural move" that helped Baltimore get a compensatory pick, per ESPN's Adam Schefter.

All-in-all, Johnson finished the 2024 season with just 375 receiving yards and three touchdowns, the bulk of that production coming with the Panthers. Johnson was a productive receiver in Pittsburgh, earning a Pro Bowl nod in 2021, but fell from that level last year.

Despite the drama that came with the 2024 season, the Browns decided to take a chance on Johnson, and he'll look to return to his former self while helping the team in their rebuild.