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Shedeur Sanders is employed.
The Cleveland Browns used the No. 144 overall pick in the fifth round of the NFL Draft to take Sanders on Saturday, ending one of the most shocking slides by a top quarterback prospect in league history.
Sanders was, by some, projected to be the first quarterback taken this year shortly after the end of the 2024 college football season. But throughout the draft process, that dramatically changed, and Sanders fell all the way to the third day.
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Feb 6, 2025; New Orleans, LA, USA; Deion Sanders (right) with his son Shedeur Sanders on the red carpet before Super Bowl LIX NFL Honors at Saenger Theatre. (Kirby Lee-Imagn Images)
The family was at the center immense national attention with video footage of their handling of the dramatic fall. This included Sanders giving a speech to his family admitting that they weren’t prepared to fall out of the first round on Thursday, and footage of a prank call to the prospect on Friday.
But on Saturday, the family finally heard his name called…and it was time to party.
In footage livestreamed on Twitch, Sanders and his family members were seen exploding in a raucous screeching celebration once his name was called.
Additional footage showed the family breaking out into spontaneous dance moments after the selection was made.
Shedeur himself made his own statement after the drafting, crediting God.
“Thank you God,” he wrote.
Sanders and his family members thanked God repeatedly throughout draft weekend.
Sanders led the Big 12 Conference with 4,134 passing yards and 37 touchdown passes and was named the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year. In his 50 college games, Sanders threw for 14,347 yards, 134 touchdowns and 27 interceptions.
For a quarterback prospect of that esteem to fall out of the third round is highly unusual in the NFL.
President Donald Trump even joined in on the debate on Friday, when he ripped “stupid” NFL owners for passing on the star Colorado quarterback and allowing him to fall into the second round.
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“What is wrong with NFL owners, are they STUPID? Deion Sanders was a great college football player, and was even greater in the NFL. He’s also a very good coach, streetwise and smart! Therefore, Shedeur, his quarterback son, has PHENOMENAL GENES, and is all set for Greatness,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.
“He should be “picked” IMMEDIATELY by a team that wants to WIN. Good luck Shedeur, and say hello to your wonderful father!”
Top prospects like Sanders have seen shocking slides in past NFL Drafts. Aaron Rodgers slipped down to the 25th overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft, and was passed on for Alex Smith by the 49ers.
Patrick Mahomes wasn’t taken until the 10th pick in the 2017 Draft, and was passed on for Mitch Trubisky by the Bears. Still, at the time, Mahomes was less of a hyped prospect than Sanders.
Lamar Jackson fell all the way to the 32nd pick in the 2018 draft, after four other quarterbacks were taken ahead of him.
But Sanders, who was once considered the top candidate to go No. 1 overall this year, falling to day three of the draft, is a historic anomaly.
An anonymous NFL coach told the NFL Network Sanders was “the worst formal interview I’ve ever been in in my life.”
“He’s so entitled. He takes unnecessary sacks. He never plays on time. He has horrible body language. He blames teammates,” the coach continued. “But the biggest thing is he’s not that good.”
Another longtime AFC executive echoed that sentiment, telling the outlet, “It didn’t go great in our interview. He wants to dictate what he’s going to do and what’s best for him. He makes you feel small.”
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Three quarterbacks were then taken ahead of him, including lower-rated prospects Jaxson Dart and Tyler Shough.
Then Sanders was prank-called by an imposter during a livestream Friday night. While he and his family live-streamed day two of their NFL Draft party on Twitch Friday night, Sanders was seen answering a phone call that he assumed was from a general manager making the decision to draft him.
But the wait, media scrutiny and even prank clearly wasn’t enough to dampen the family’s spirits when he finally was taken, nor their faith in God.
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