The wait felt like an eternity. For two days, the cameras kept cutting to a green room or a private draft party, looking for a reaction that wasn't coming. People were losing their minds on social media. Was he really falling this far? The son of "Prime Time," the man with the signature watch flex and the massive NIL deals, was still sitting on the board while teams picked kickers and backup guards.
Then, Saturday happened.
In the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft, the Cleveland Browns finally stopped the slide. They traded up to the 144th overall pick to secure the Colorado quarterback. It wasn't the glitzy top-five selection many analysts predicted a year prior. It was a Day 3 selection that redefined the narrative around Shedeur Sanders and his path to the pros.
The Cleveland Browns and the No. 144 Pick
Honestly, the Browns were the last team most fans expected to pull the trigger, mostly because they had already taken a quarterback. They grabbed Oregon's Dillon Gabriel in the third round. But Andrew Berry, the Browns' GM, is known for being aggressive when he sees value.
To get the deal done, Cleveland sent their 166th and 192nd picks to the Seattle Seahawks. That’s how you get your guy.
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Why did he fall? That’s the $4.6 million question—which, by the way, is the roughly the value of the four-year contract he eventually signed. Scouts were torn. On one hand, you had a kid who threw for 4,134 yards and 37 touchdowns in his final year at Colorado. He was the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year. He was tough as nails, taking hit after hit behind an offensive line that was, to be polite, a bit of a disaster.
But then there were the "concerns."
NFL insiders whispered about his "body language" or the perceived distractions of the Sanders family brand. One anonymous coach even told NFL Network that he took too many unnecessary sacks. These things matter in war rooms. While guys like Cam Ward went early, Shedeur waited.
Life After the Draft: The Rookie Season
Being a fifth-round pick usually means you’re holding a clipboard. But the Browns’ QB room in 2025 was a chaotic mess. Deshaun Watson was out with an Achilles injury. Joe Flacco and Dillon Gabriel started the year, but the team stumbled to a 2-8 start.
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That’s when Kevin Stefanski made the call.
Shedeur Sanders was named the starter in Week 12. He didn't set the world on fire immediately, but he did something the others couldn't: he won games. He finished the season with a 3-4 record as a starter. His stats were a mixed bag of rookie mistakes and flashes of brilliance:
- 1,400 passing yards - 7 touchdowns - 10 interceptions - 56.6% completion rate He also added 169 yards and a score on the ground. It wasn't perfect, but it was enough to make the critics realize he belonged on an NFL field. He proved he could handle the pressure of a pro pocket, even if the interceptions suggested he was still adjusting to the speed of NFL secondaries.
The Trade Nobody Saw Coming
The story of who drafted Shedeur Sanders actually has a weird second chapter. After a rocky but promising rookie year in Cleveland, the landscape shifted.
As of early 2026, Shedeur is no longer in the "Dawg Pound."
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In a move that shocked the league, he ended up with the Kansas City Chiefs. While he originally entered the league as a Brown, his current status as an active roster member for the Chiefs has fans wondering if he's being groomed as the ultimate insurance policy for Patrick Mahomes. It's a wild twist for a guy who was once labeled "undraftable" by some of the harsher TV talking heads.
Why the "Fall" to the Fifth Round Happened
- The Sack Rate: He was sacked 52 times in 2023. NFL teams worried he held the ball too long.
- The Personality: Some GMs were wary of the "Coach Prime" media circus.
- Arm Strength: While accurate, some scouts questioned if he had the elite "zip" to fit balls into tight NFL windows.
- The Prank Call: Remember that? A prankster actually called him during the draft pretending to be the Saints' GM. It just added to the weirdness of the weekend.
Moving Forward
If you're following Shedeur's career, the Cleveland era is already in the rearview mirror. He’s navigating the complexities of the league with the same "Legendary" mindset he preached in Boulder. He’s already landing major deals with Nike and Gatorade, proving that his marketability didn't die with his draft stock.
For those looking to keep up with his progress, watch the Chiefs' preseason reps closely. The transition from a fifth-round "lottery ticket" to a potential starter is the hardest jump in sports.
Keep an eye on his completion percentage in short-yardage situations. That was his biggest struggle in 2025. If he cleans that up, the "Shedeur Slide" will just be a footnote in a much bigger story. Check the official NFL stats pages or the Chiefs' roster updates to see how his snap counts evolve as we head into the 2026 season.