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The long tumble in the draft cost Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders millions. And maybe that’s how far off Deion Sanders was on his valuation of his son. But here is why the Browns traded up for Sheduer Sanders after passing on him six times in the 2025 NFL Draft.
The Browns grabbed the following players before they took Sanders: Mason Graham, Carson Schwesinger, Quinshon Judkins, Harold Fannin Jr., Dillon Gabriel, and Dylan Sampson. The oddest pick of that bunch was Gabriel, but that’s another story.
Browns general manager said it came down to position when his team traded up, according to nbcsports.com.
“We talk often about quarterback being the most important position in the sport,” Berry said. “We felt like it wasn’t necessarily the plan going into the weekend to select two quarterbacks. But we do believe in best player available. We do believe in positional value. And we didn’t necessarily expect him to be available in the fifth round.”
It will be interesting to see if Sanders winds up being the starting quarterback at some point in 2025 for the Browns. Berry said the potential is there for Sanders to succeed.
“He was a good, solid prospect at the most important position,” Berry said. “We felt like it got to a point where he was probably mis-priced relative to the draft. The acquisition cost was pretty light, and it’s a guy that we think can out-produce his draft slot. So I wouldn’t say it’s any more than that. I may hesitate to characterize it as a blockbuster. That’s not necessarily how we thought of the transaction. But we are excited to work with him.”
Berry said he didn’t know why Sanders remained on the board in the fifth round.
“I can’t speak to why the market priced him the way it did,’ Berry said. “We had our own internal valuation, in terms of how we viewed the skill set and the quality of the player. Once it got to a point where it felt like it was at a pretty steep discount, we just felt like, especially relative to the alternative ways we could use the selection, this made the most sense.”
Sanders will compete against Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, and Gabriel initially. It’s likely one of those guys won’t make the 2025 roster. And that could even be Sanders. Deshaun Watson is expected to miss most of the 2025 season with an injury, and many have speculated he has already played his last snap for the Browns.
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