Shedeur Sanders selected by Browns with 144th pick in NFL draft

Sean Keeler, The Denver Post on Apr 26, 2025

Published in Football

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Shedeur Sanders' “legendary” football journey is bound for Cleveland.

After waiting through two nights and four rounds, the former Colorado quarterback and record-setting Buffs passer was taken by the Browns on Saturday afternoon with the 144th pick in the fifth round of the 2025 NFL draft.

The selection was much later than many predicted, as the 6-foot-2 Texas native had been mocked as a first-round pick by countless NFL draft prognosticators — ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. chief among them.

Instead, he will be bringing his “Legendary” business brand to the shores of Lake Erie after spending two years in Boulder rewriting the CU record books and three days sweating out a precipitous draft fall.

Sanders, son of Buffs coach Deion Sanders, wrapped up his collegiate tenure as CU’s all-time leader in passing touchdowns (134) and broke more than 100 program records.

As a senior, Sanders was named the Big 12 offensive player of the year and won the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award as the top upperclassman QB in college football after throwing for 37 touchdowns and 4,134 yards for the 9-4 Buffs. Shedeur threw a touchdown pass in 49 straight games, the longest streak in NCAA Division I history.

The younger Sanders joined his father in Boulder after two outstanding seasons at FCS Jackson State in which the signal-caller threw for 70 scores as a freshman and sophomore with just 14 interceptions. Shedeur largely kept to a similar pace at the Power 4 level as a junior and senior, combining for 64 passing scores and 13 picks at CU, burning through the program’s all-time passing annals in the process. The Texas native posted a 13-11 as a starter with the Buffs.

“I don’t think Jackson State or CU had a winning history before I got there,” the younger Sanders said during his nationally-televised pro day in Boulder earlier this month. “So, it’s just another day in the office, another year in the office for me. It’s the same thing over and over. And that’s (what) I enjoy about life because I understand how to approach different situations and what to do differently. So, I’m just thankful for the opportunity.

“Whoever drafts me, whatever pick, it truly (doesn’t) matter to me because I know in myself who I am and I know what I bring to the table. So, whoever sees the value in that would be very lucky to get me.”

Cleveland and Shedeur had been linked for at least a month — just not on Day 3 of the draft.

The Browns reportedly sent at least seven representatives to CU’s pro day/showcase on April 4 in Boulder, including owner Jimmy Haslam. The younger Sanders and Buffs teammate Travis Hunter, who wound up being taken with the second overall pick by Jacksonville, even dined with the Cleveland contingent in the metro the night before their televised workout.

Draft experts had initially projected Coach Prime’s son to be either the first or second signal-caller taken this weekend in what was widely regarded as a poor overall QB class compared to 2024.

But the buzz around the former CU passer soured significantly after he declined to participate in the Senior Bowl, the Shrine Bowl or in on-field workouts at the NFL combine in February. Two analysts with Ourlads.com’s scouting service separately told The Denver Post this spring that they graded the younger Sanders as a second-round selection, most likely, because of the signal-caller’s propensity to hang on to the ball too long, limited speed, and the fact that he had never played on a high school or college team that wasn’t coached by his Hall of Fame father.

Shedeur was the sixth quarterback taken in the 2025 draft, after Cam Ward (Titans, Jaxson Dart (Giants), Tyler Shough (Saints), Jalen Milore (Seahawks) and Dillon Gabriel (Browns). That he and fellow rookie rookie Gabriel will be in the same quarterback room as Deshaun Watson, Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett should make for an interesting ramp up to the season.

Since the NFL-AFL merger in 1970, only five Buffs players before Sanders had been drafted to play QB at the next level. Koy Detmer was the last, selected in the seventh round of the 1997 draft.