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The Cleveland Browns turned heads during the NFL Draft when they drafted Shedeur Sanders in the fifth round. The projections had him going to Cleveland with the fifth pick, according to ESPN’s Mel Kiper. However, the Browns waited and added him to a rookie class alongside Dillon Gabriel. With Arch Manning on the horizon, Kiper had some thoughts about Sanders’ slip.
Manning is the top quarterback prospect in a very talented 2026 class. ESPN held its first 2026 NFL mock draft to see where the country’s top talent could end up. When Field Yates picked Manning to go to Cleveland at No. 1, Kiper took exception. He defended Sanders, saying that he never should have slipped as far as he did during the draft.
“What about Shedeur, that’s my thing,” Kiper said. “We’re going to get right off it. What about Shedeur? If he’s the fifth pick in the draft instead of the fifth round pick that he was. Would we be saying anything? Would we be saying it was a bad pick? We’d be saying nothing was wrong with that fifth pick overall being Shedeur Sanders based on the way he’s looked in training camp right after the draft, through training camp and then that first preseason game. Obviously injured, he didn’t play this past week.”
Kiper was a big supporter of Sanders ahead of the 2025 NFL Draft. After his rant during the mock draft, it is clear that his love hasn’t gone anywhere. The Browns’ rookie QB showed out in his preseason debut, even if he lost the starting job to Joe Flacco in the end. According to Kiper, Cleveland’s long-term plans could change depending on how its rookies play.
“Bottom line is what do they feel about Shedeur and Dillon Gabriel, who they took two rounds earlier coming out of three different programs, UCF, Oklahoma, Oregon,” Kiper said.
Manning is a talented prospect, but the question is whether or not the Browns will need a quarterback in a year. According to Kiper, they might already have the long-term answer in Sanders.
The post Mel Kiper still ranting over Browns’ Shedeur Sanders in ESPN’s first 2026 mock draft appeared first on ClutchPoints.
