It finally happened. The Cleveland Browns stopped the Shedeur Sanders slide, spending the 144th pick on the Colorado quarterback. This is an incredible value pick for Cleveland considering Sanders had, at one point, been projected to be the second pick of the draft (also by Cleveland). The Browns snagging him in the fifth round is absolutely wild but something clearly gave them, and the other 31 teams, pause when it came to drafting him.
All of that being said, the pick's been made and Sanders is now a Cleveland Brown. He's not the only quarterback the Browns selected in this draft, however, as they used a late third-round pick on Oregon signal-caller Dillon Gabriel. This was pretty shocking for a variety of reasons but now it's even more of a head-scratching move by Cleveland's front office.
While the Browns were able to pass on Sanders in the first round, build up their roster, and still land the Colorado prospect, they also wasted a pick on another quarterback and one that isn't as talented as Sanders. Sanders has a chance to be the Browns' starting quarterback in Week 1 and that's unprecedented for a fifth-round pick.
Browns waste draft pick on Dillon Gabriel only to take Shedeur Sanders later on
The Browns' quarterback room was a mess before the draft and after the draft, it's still a mess. Cleveland added Sanders and Gabriel, signed Joe Flacco and traded for Kenny Pickett. Deshaun Watson is also on the roster but won't be playing due to a setback in his rehab.
The starting job is truly wide open but it's frustrating that the Browns spent a pick that could have helped other parts of this team on a quarterback that probably isn't going to play this year (or if he does, it won't be much barring injuries).
Clearly the team has a plan here and it'll be interesting to see how all of this plays out. Does Sanders win the starting job? Does he end up as the backup to Flacco? What will the final quarterback room look like in Cleveland? There's a lot to figure out between now and Week 1 and it's going to be an incredibly bumpy ride.