When now-Browns QB Shedeur Sanders slid all the way to the fifth round in April’s NFL Draft, there was a collective realization that, somewhere along the way, NFL media badly misread the Colorado star’s stock.
While buzz built in the days leading up to the draft that Sanders might slide out of the first round, no one foresaw a fall that would last until day three.
The majority of draft day slides are easily explainable by injury concerns or off-field issues. Sanders’ fall, however, was much more complex, and the factors that led to it are still cloudy.
Here’s what experts are saying about Sanders’ slide and how it caught so many draft evaluators off guard.
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Why did Shedeur Sanders slide?
Media members weren’t the only ones with a blind spot regarding Sanders’ stock — teams were also convinced at least some others had first-round grade on the Colorado QB, even if their own grade was different, USA Today reported.
“I just think every team thought someone else would do it,” ESPN’s Matt Miller told USA Today, adding that “people were shocked” within the league that Sanders lasted as long as he did.
The Athletic’s Dane Brugler said he believes Sanders’ fame and connections “clouded the projection for those of us on the outside” as the draft process played out.
So, what led to Sanders’ fall? The limited number of teams willing to take on a quarterback, let alone a quarterback who comes with his level of fanfare, became an issue once Day 2 rolled around and the Giants had already filled their void. “He shrunk the pool down to Cleveland, and he didn’t even know it at the time,” The Ringer’s Todd McShay told USA Today.
McShay added that Sanders’ pre-draft interviews did raise a red flag for teams, as had been reported in the days leading up to the event. “Nothing was disrespectful,” McShay said. “There wasn’t foul language. Nothing got confrontational. Just didn’t take it seriously.”
BENDER: Inside Shedeur Sanders’ drama-free debut at Browns minicamp
While mock drafts start a year — or more — before the actual draft takes place, many teams don’t start seriously evaluating the draft until the season ends. According to Miller, the Sanders family may have misread the quarterback’s stock by assuming he would be a top-three pick just because he was projected in that range in December.
“Shedeur needed to prove himself and instead he sat out the process,” Miller said. His lack of an agent removed a safeguard during the process and perhaps prevented Sanders from realizing he could go tumbling down draft boards.
The Browns ultimately selected Sanders with the No. 144 overall pick, throwing him into a competition with veteran Joe Flacco, fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel and former Steelers starter Kenny Pickett.
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