By Pat Welter

It’s a slide that won’t be forgotten. How we remember Shedeur Sanders’ NFL career is now up to him.

Sanders was projected to be a first round pick by most draft analysts, so why did he fall to the Cleveland Browns in the 5th round? Some have called it collusion, conspiracy…or maybe he just wasn’t that good of a prospect….at least relative to all the noise that comes with him.

Shedeur Sanders is the son of Deion Sanders, one of the best, and at times, most brash players in NFL history. Love him or hate him, he’s a household name and he’s helped do the same for his sons.

Deion is one of the best athletes we’ve ever seen. He not only played all three phases of NFL football, he attempted to play a NFL and MLB game in the same day!

Shedeur is not the same type of athlete, and obviously plays a very different position.

At 6’1 216 pounds, he doesn’t have prototypical size, he has an average arm and isn’t fast enough to be a NFL run threat.

His strengths are his scrambling, his deep ball, his touch and overall playmaking. He was the most sacked quarterback in FBS. He handled pressure on the field and a massive spotlight off it. Of course, that spotlight was almost entirely self induced by either him or his father.

He was a very good college quarterback and elevated the Colorado and Jackson State programs, but that doesn’t mean he should be a first round pick…or have his number already retired. (I’m sorry, but that’s not helping his case)

Most draft analysts had Cam Ward, this year’s number 1 pick, as the 4th or 5th best prospect in last year’s quarterback class. The lack of depth in this year’s class artificially bumped Shedeur’s stock up. Sure, we see team’s reach for player’s every year, but teams have gotten better at this. Historically there aren’t a lot of quarterbacks taken in the second and third rounds. At least not ones that become NFL franchise quarterbacks.

This year Louisville’s Tyler Shough went in the second round to the Saints. Alabama’s Jalen Milroe to the Seahawks in the third and Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel (now Shedeur’s teammate) to the Browns, also in the third.

In 2024 no quarterbacks went in those rounds. In 2023 Will Levis and Hendon Hooker did. Hooker is a backup. Levis has already been replaced by Ward.

In the last ten years, Dak Prescott, Jalen Hurts and Brock Purdy are the only current starting quarterbacks taken in the second round or later.

Personally I had Shedeur as the second-best quarterback in this class, but even the best prospects are a 50/50 proposition. The jury is still out on No. 1 overall picks like Bryce Young, Kyler Murray, Trevor Lawrence, and Caleb Williams. When it comes to Shedeur, teams had to ask themselves is he worth the headache and is he worth the risk.

NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero got anonymous quotes from NFL personnel on all the quarterbacks in the class. This quote got a lot of attention from a NFL assistant coach.

“The worst formal interview I’ve ever been in in my life. 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.”

Maybe Shedeur just isn’t that good. Maybe he’s the next Johnny Manziel or Tim Tebow. A great college player that was more celebrity than NFL quarterback. Or maybe he’ll be Cam Newton. Someone whose confidence or perceived arrogance is actually backed up by their ability.  Tom Brady was famously taken in the 6th round.  Brock Purdy the last player picked.  Shedeur will have his chance to show if he was taken too late, too early, or like his watch celebration….right on time.

Source: wralsportsfan.com