What went wrong: How Shedeur Sanders’ descent actually happened pre-draft

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But now? He was QB6 in the 2025 NFL Draft. He was the second Sanders off the board after T.J. Sanders (no relation). He’s QB5 for the Browns, and he’s the second rookie QB the team drafted. If Dillon Gabriel wanted to “watch flex” on Shedeur, he could. But that’s not really Gabriel’s style, which is part of the reason the Browns took the Oregon QB in Round 3. 

Ahead of Sanders.

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

The massive difference between Manziel and Sanders, however, is that Sanders has no character issues. He’s not a drinker, not a partier, not a drug user. In some ways, Sanders is like former college phenom Tim Tebow. 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. 

And so his watch is more than just a watch. It’s a whole persona. And it’s one that NFL leaders didn’t rush to put in their quarterback room. 

“I think it’s the biggest slide in NFL history,” a league source said.

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Sanders must have told interviewers 10 times during the pre-draft process that he doesn’t “have a trust fund.” He said it while speaking to the media. He said it while speaking to teams. And that was likely supposed to telegraph that he didn’t come from privilege, that he was still hungry to prove himself. Now, let’s put aside that Sanders showed up to his draft party with Louis Vuitton bags full of cash — and that his father, Deion, just signed a $54 million extension with the Buffs. Let’s instead dissect the idea that Shedeur — despite his obvious financial security — might be ready to stay humble, take coaching and put his head down to grind.

That wasn’t exactly what teams saw in the draft process.

At first, it seemed unfair that anonymous scouts ripped Sanders’ attitude. Was this the typical pre-draft smokescreen, when scouts downplay a prospect they hope to select? That wasn’t the case here. Those anonymous reports were honest — maybe brutally so. Not only wasn’t Sanders considered a Day 1 pick by league executives, teams were taking him off their board entirely. 

How did that happen to a prospect considered a third-round talent, at worst?

At the NFL Combine, Sanders set the tone when he only took interviews with the top seven teams. Now, that’s common for high picks, which — at the time — Sanders (and basically every media member) thought he would be. Quarterback Cam Ward met with only three teams. Receiver and cornerback Travis Hunter met with nine. But those two read the room correctly. They landed in the top two picks. Sanders didn’t. That’s because he didn’t maximize his time in his interviews.

Joel Klatt dives into why Shedeur Sanders dropped to the fifth round

A league source told FOX Sports that a top-seven team asked Sanders to study its playbook for an install at their interview, but he showed up unprepared and instead used the time to interview the team’s leadership. He asked what the plan was to support him. That question might have been OK — after he scored an A+ on the install. But because Sanders didn’t do the work the team requested, the questions came off as presumptuous.

These installs are one of the most crucial parts of the pre-draft process for quarterbacks. We saw on “Hard Knocks” when the Giants, for example, fell in love with Drake Maye at the NFL Combine last year. An install is a key test of a quarterback’s memory, football acumen and study habits, among other things.

Ultimately, Sanders’ lack of professionalism, preparation and self-awareness killed his chances with at least one team. Was that his intention — to bomb an interview on purpose?

“At some of those [combine] meetings with certain teams that maybe Shedeur Sanders didn’t really want to go to … I was told that he more or less sandbagged in those interviews,” CBS Sports NFL insider Jonathan Jones said.

One thing was 100 percent clear: Sanders was choosy. He was deliberate. That had been the family’s pre-draft game plan all along.

“There’s certain cities that ain’t gonna happen,” Deion Sanders said during a podcast appearance on “Million$ Worth of Game” in 2024. “It’s gonna be an Eli [Manning].”

Manning famously forced the San Diego Chargers to trade him to the New York Giants on draft day — in part because his father, Archie Manning, was a former NFL quarterback and an influential figure in the league.

Deion Sanders clearly misjudged his power and Sanders’ talent. Repeatedly.

When an NFL QBs coach said anonymously in March that Sanders came off as “arrogant” at the combine, Deion Sanders threatened to expose that person. That began to close the feedback loop between teams and NFL insiders trying to get a realistic sense of where Shedeur Sanders might land. 

Deion had long contended that his son would be the No. 1 overall pick — or at least a top-four pick. Even when it became clear that wasn’t in play, Deion didn’t seem interested in adjusting the family plan for the draft. And maybe this is where hiring an agent might have come in handy — to assess the unstable ground for Sanders and change the tactic. 

But it appears there wasn’t anyone who stopped and said: Hey, maybe this isn’t working. Let’s rethink what we’re doing.

Why Shedeur Sanders’ draft slide is no ‘blessing in disguise’

If you want evidence that maybe Sanders and his dad didn’t take the hint, Shedeur went to the East-West Shrine Game, which is a credit to him — attending a pre-draft all-star game when Ward didn’t. And again, to his credit, Sanders played in Colorado’s Bowl Game while Ward left Miami‘s at halftime and watched while his team lost, 42-41. For the Shrine Game, Sanders originally planned to practice but ultimately decided not to — instead attending only to meet with teams off the field. 

Layers were forming over the Sanders family. They distanced themselves at a time when they should have reengaged in the process to save Shedeur’s draft stock.

There’s tangible proof from draft day that Deion Sanders remained entrenched in doing the process his and Shedeur’s way. When Shedeur finally went to the Browns in the fifth round, Deion told USA Today he felt like the draft coverage of his son had been “venomous.” As shown on broadcasts, Deion watched expectantly when the Saints were on the clock at ninth overall, though multiple reports indicated that New Orleans wouldn’t take a QB there. 

The Sanders family was out of touch — literally — with the NFL.

This isn’t to say every draft prospect goes through the process without missteps.

But take a look at the draft’s QB2, Jaxson Dart, who interviewed with just about every team. The same was true of QB4 Jalen Milroe. During Dart’s meeting with the media, he was asked about the assumption that there were two quarterbacks at the top of the draft — Ward and Sanders — and then a second wave. Did he agree and could he close the gap?

“There’s a lot of people who say a lot of different things, so I’m not trying to tie my head into anything like that,” Dart said. “I’m somebody that’s process-driven. I just want to take it one day at a time. This has been a dream for me since I was a little kid to be in this position that I’m in today. I’m really just trying to improve.”

It’s a fairly boring answer to a question that — with hindsight — was loaded with incorrect assumptions. Dart didn’t flinch. He did what an organization would want a star quarterback to do: avoid attention and controversy. It was one example of his embracing the process.

He did it again at the Senior Bowl. Both Dart and Milroe worked hard to sell themselves on and off the field. They weren’t great, but they were out there, practicing and then playing in the game. So maybe it’s not a coincidence that Giants GM Joe Schoen spoke to that competitive spirit when talking to Dart after drafting him.

“You dominated the entire process with us, man,” Schoen said.

We always think about quarterback competitions taking place in training camp. But some take place in the pre-draft process. One took place between Ward and Sanders for the Titans’ job. Then one took place between Dart and Sanders for the Giants’ job. And so on. Ultimately, it’s about making one team say yes.

It’s also worth noting that this was a draft in which no QB — not even Ward — could compare to the previous year’s top prospects. And so perhaps it was likely important that the quarterbacks in this class showed how hard they were willing to work to improve. 

Sanders struggled to demonstrate that humility to teams — so much so that teams felt like he was deliberately trying to push them away.

When Sanders’ pro day rolled around, there was plenty of mystery about where he’d land. Mock drafts often pegged him as a Pittsburgh Steeler at 21st overall. But some NFL insiders began to suggest that Sanders might land outside the first round.

“I feel like I’m the No. 1 quarterback because that’s what I know,” Sanders said after that pro day. “But at the end of the day, I’m not stuck on that because it’s about situation,” he added. “Whatever situation and franchise believes in me and gives me that opportunity, I’m excited to go. Wherever that falls, it don’t really matter to me.”

Of course, he fell a lot further than he thought.

An NFL scout told FOX Sports that his team didn’t really talk to Sanders. The team thought he’d be gone on Day 2. And they targeted their needs in the middle rounds rather than stopping Sanders’ fall.

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

Perhaps because this quarterback draft class wasn’t highly touted, many teams put veteran QBs in place at the top of their depth charts. There were really only two teams where a rookie QB1 was even in play: the Browns and the Titans. The Steelers seem to know something everyone else doesn’t — which is that Aaron Rodgers is going to join them. The Saints and Giants have a veteran in place but would clearly benefit from a rookie QB — but perhaps one willing to start as a backup.

Once Sanders lost his opportunities to step in as a starter through Round 1, there was a new problem: It was hard to know what he might look like as a backup. Not only does Sanders bring a Manziel/Tebow-sized presence, but he has his own social media team — which arrived with him at the Browns’ facility on Tuesday — to amplify that presence and fame. 

The thing that comes next is the hard work. 

There will be plenty to post on his Instagram about the clipboard-holding QB who must fight to make the roster before even thinking about winning the starting job. This could be one heck of a story. But it’s not going to start off as glamorous as his last job. Sanders’ success is now in his own hands. And he’ll have to fight for QB1 in many of the ways he avoided during the pre-draft process.

The good news for Sanders is that the Browns’ starting job is genuinely wide open. 

The bad news? Everyone in the group is hungry. If Deshaun Watson returns from injury, he’ll be motivated to reassert himself as the QB1 in what will likely be his last shot in Cleveland and maybe the NFL. Joe Flacco, at age 40, doesn’t want his career to end either. Kenny Pickett must see that this is his last shot to prove he can be a QB1. Gabriel might have the most job security as a third-round rookie. 

So where will Sanders fit? Maybe as QB1. Maybe as a September cut.

For the guy with the $350,000 watch, the time is already ticking on his NFL chances.

Before joining FOX Sports as an NFL reporter and columnist, Henry McKenna spent seven years covering the Patriots for USA TODAY Sports Media Group and Boston Globe Media. Follow him on Twitter at @henrycmckenna. 

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