rewrite this title NFL team executive expands on what Browns’ Shedeur Sanders did wrong before draft

Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders falling to the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft before the Cleveland Browns traded up to select him with pick No. 144 has become one of the most-discussed developments of the offseason. 

On Tuesday, league insider Dianna Russini of The Athletic expanded on how Sanders’ predraft actions negatively impacted his stock before April 24 arrived. 

Specifically, one unnamed team executive told Russini that Sanders handled “visits with teams as a recruiting trip versus a job interview.” Additionally, that executive “believed Sanders, who did not hire an agent, would have benefited from having one to provide a better level of insight into and understanding of the draft process.” 

Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 is among those who have noted that Miami signal-caller Cam Ward didn’t have an agent ahead of the draft. The Tennessee Titans made Ward the first pick of the player-selection process on April 24. 

The “recruiting trip” line likely has to do with rumors that popped up this past winter claiming that Colorado head coach Deion Sanders could essentially warn teams that Shedeur, Deion’s son, would only sign contracts with certain clubs. Former NFL player/executive and current ESPN analyst Louis Riddick, who is close with the Sanders family, later suggested that Shedeur didn’t want to be drafted by the Titans, Browns or New York Giants. 

NFL Draft analyst and league insider Todd McShay of The Ringer reported that at least one of Shedeur Sanders’ visits with Giants head coach Brian Daboll went poorly, in part because Daboll allegedly felt Sanders was unprepared for that meeting. One “longtime NFL assistant coach” accused Sanders of being responsible for “the worst formal interview” that coach had ever experienced, and a different report said the 23-year-old “didn’t take blame” when shown “a particularly rough interception” during an interview held at the combine. 

Per Julia Stumbaugh of Bleacher Report, Russini said during the latest edition of her “Scoop City” podcast that she “did not ever get any intel that the Cleveland Browns had [Sanders] ranked high on their board.” Russini added that the Browns only “took a chance that maybe [Sanders] can turn into something and be a player” once he fell to the fifth round.

Meanwhile, famous quarterback coach Quincy Avery is among those who believe Sanders won’t be more than “a backup at best” at the highest level. 

Now that Sanders has given “a lesson in what not to do for future quarterbacks” as it pertains to the draft, he’ll need to show he can quickly learn the Browns’ playbook as he prepares to join a quarterback room that features veteran Joe Flacco, 2022 first-round pick Kenny Pickett and 2025 third-round choice Dillon Gabriel. 

As of late Tuesday morning, FanDuel Sportsbook had Sanders as a +370 betting underdog to be Cleveland’s Week 1 starter behind Flacco (+116) and Pickett (+220).