5 hours Ago By Drew Bishop
More than a week later and the football world is still reeling from the Shedeurs Sanders draft slide. The Colorado quarterback was a consensus top-100 pick in mock drafts, but fell to the Cleveland Browns at pick 144. It was the Browns' second quarterback selected after they took Oregon's Dillon Gabriel in the third round.
But why did Sanders fall so much further than he was projected? Why did Shedeur Sanders fall to the fifth round? On a recent episode of The Athletic's "Scoop City" podcast, Chase Daniel, Dianna Russini, and Dane Brugler discussed reasons behind the shocking slide . Brugler, an NFL draft expert, mentioned how Sanders draft stock fell in the spring while other quarterbacks, like Gabriel, improved their standing in pre-draft showcases. "There were only so many teams in for Shedeur Sanders in the first place, so the pool of potential landing spots was already small," Brugler said.
"If you turn off some of those teams, and some of the other teams go with different quarterbacks, you’re talking about less than a handful of potential landing spots for you," he added. Russini, a longtime NFL insider for The Athletic and ESPN, further explained why so many experts were off in assessing where Sanders would land. "I just think we didn’t have enough information about what happened in the spring," Russini said.
"There were rumors and there was gossip, but I think teams were really trying to keep that private." The majority of draft analysts are using film and performance to grade players. This is no different with Sanders but according to Russini and Brugler, Sanders' stock was falling because of his showing in the pre-draft process.
Only a select few teams were in need of a quarterback like Sanders and when they were unhappy with his performance in spring showcases and pre-draft interviews, it narrowed the field. Recent reports indicate that Sanders was intentionally sabotaging interviews with teams he didn't want to join. This could include the New York Giants, whose interview with Sanders was reportedly filled with tension after he failed a test from head coach Brian Daboll .
Brugler mentioned that other teams that would be willing to take a flyer on Sanders late in the draft weren't prepared for that possibility. Many front offices thought he would be off the board by round three, so they didn't do the research necessary to take the risk. "The Philadelphia Eagles, for example, were not going to do all the legwork needed on Shedeur because they didn’t need a quarterback.
They probably thought, 'O.K., we’re not going to take him at 32, and he’s probably not going to make it to us at 64.
So we’re not going to do all of the legwork required on a prospect like this,'" Brug;er said. All these factors added up to Sanders falling further than anyone expected. He overplayed his own hand in the pre-draft process and teams that could've taken a flyer on him were unprepared to do so.
Now the tables have turned and Sanders needs to prove himself after being humbled. MORE: Justin Jefferson races to defense of Browns QB Shedeur Sanders Super Bowl MVP gives winning formula to Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders Browns ranked as one of NFL's worst teams in post-NFL Draft power rankings NFL punishes Falcons for Shedeur Sanders prank call Former Browns quarterback sees grim future for Shedeur Sanders in Cleveland.
