Shedeur Sanders, the once-promising quarterback from the University of Colorado, became the center of scrutiny after his surprising fall to the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft. Selected at No. 144 by the Cleveland Browns, Sanders’ slide was one of the most talked-about topics in the days following the draft. Once seen as a potential top pick, Sanders’ drop left fans and analysts alike scrambling to figure out what went wrong.
NFL Analyst Points to Sanders’ Draft Process Missteps
In the aftermath, ESPN NFL Draft analyst Matt Miller shed some light on what he believes led to Sanders’ plummet. According to Miller, Sanders’ camp mishandled key moments in the draft process, especially when it came to showcasing his talents.
“I didn’t think that they handled the process well,” Miller said, speaking to Awful Announcing. “And that’s not just hindsight. I took a lot of heat for saying on ‘NFL Live,’ right before the NFL Scouting Combine, that he was making a mistake.”
Miller emphasized that Sanders should have participated in the NFL Scouting Combine and the East-West Shrine Game—two pivotal events for draft prospects. “He should have worked out at the East-West Shrine Game that he accepted an invite to,” Miller continued. “The NFL has this new rule that if you accept an invite to an All-Star Game, you have to participate. And he didn’t. So, I said on TV that they were not handling the process well. And I thought it would hurt him. People were not happy with me.”
Despite his criticism, Miller still believed that Sanders was overrated as a player.
“I had a lot of messages. I had a lot of responses to the video ESPN put out saying that,” Miller explained.
“So I do think … was he overrated as a player? Yes, based on the talents and the tools he has as a player, he was not a top two or three player in this draft class.”
The NFL’s Humbling Evaluation
Miller pointed out that the NFL’s evaluation process is brutal, and Sanders’ perceived certainty about his draft position ultimately worked against him. “How the NFL views you and evaluates you, they will humble every player,” he said. “So I think for the Sanders camp, they had this perception of Shedeur as a lock two or three draft pick. And they approached the process that way.”
According to Miller, there was no outside influence that could convince Sanders or his camp that their approach might be flawed. “There was never anyone from the outside that could get through to him and say, ‘Wait a second, he’s not guaranteed to be a two or three draft pick.'”
A Chance to Prove Himself
Now, with the Cleveland Browns, Sanders faces a chance to prove everyone wrong. He will compete for the starting quarterback role against a crowded QB room featuring the likes of Kenny Pickett, Joe Flacco, and Dillon Gabriel. Deshaun Watson, expected to miss the entire 2025 season after re-rupturing his Achilles in the offseason, leaves an opening for Sanders to make his mark.
For Sanders, the path forward is clear: despite his draft position, he has the ability to show the NFL that he belongs among the best.
The 2025 NFL Draft saw Shedeur Sanders’ rise to fame take an unexpected turn. While some may have pegged him as a future star, the reality of the draft process, coupled with his camp’s miscalculations, placed him further down the board than expected. However, Sanders now has an opportunity to prove his doubters wrong in Cleveland, a chance he’ll surely seize with both hands.
