Shedeur Sanders’ NFL career is set to begin on Friday night as he is slated to make the start for the Cleveland Browns in their preseason opener against the Carolina Panthers.
The former Colorado quarterback and son of NFL Hall of Famer Deion Sanders — his college head coach — finds himself buried on the depth chart to begin his career. But due to injuries to Kenny Pickett and fellow 2025 NFL draft pick Dillon Gabriel, Sanders will get the nod on Friday.
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Sanders has been the subject of one of the bigger offseason NFL storylines. Widely projected as a first-round pick entering the 2025 draft, Sanders ultimately saw one of the most stunning draft slides in recent memory as he fell all the way to Cleveland in the fifth round. The Browns even passed on him in the third round, when they opted to take Gabriel before circling back to pick Sanders on Day 3.
What caused that slide? Well, we don’t exactly know for sure, but it seems Sanders made a negative impression on several NFL teams during the pre-draft process. One longtime NFL assistant told NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero ahead of the draft that Sanders gave “the worst formal interview” he has ever been a part of.
“He’s so entitled. He takes unnecessary sacks. He never plays on time. He has horrible body language. He blames teammates. … But the biggest thing is, he’s not that good.”
Other anonymous NFL decision-makers echoed the sentiment about Sanders struggling in pre-draft meetings, with an AFC executive saying Sanders “wants to dictate what he’s going to do and what’s best for him. He makes you feel small.”
In spite of these concerns and the fact that they had already drafted a quarterback, the Browns ultimately took their chances on Sanders late in the draft.
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He’s currently listed as the No. 4 quarterback on the roster behind Joe Flacco, Pickett and Gabriel, but with the injuries to Cleveland’s quarterback room, he’ll have the opportunity to prove his doubters wrong in what should be extended action on Friday night.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Browns: Why did Shedeur Sanders fall in 2025 NFL draft?