Seemingly everyone has something to say about Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders. Despite the 2025 NFL Draft now being a thing of the past, people are still trying to wrap their head around why Sanders, a consensus first- or second-round talent, fell to the fifth round. Recently, some college coaches weighed in on the discussion.
ESPN college football reporter Adam Rittenberg spoke with a ton of college football coaches to get their takes on the draft. Considering they spent the last three to seven years either coaching or coaching against these players, there aren’t many people with better insight about the latest group of NFL rookies.
As far as the comments on Sanders, many of the anonymous coaches expressed familiar sentiments like being surpised he slid, but also understanding if teams didn’t want a backup quarterback with a brand as big as Sanders’. However, one coach from the Big 12, the conference Sanders played his final season in, said he was especially shocked, because Sanders was the next-best quarterback after Cam Ward.
"I was shocked. You never know what the interview process, how that went. I thought besides Cam [Ward], he was the second-[best] guy"Anon. Big 12 coach on Shedeur Sanders
Big 12 coach says Shedeur Sanders was the second-best quarterback in the 2025 Draft
That statement refutes any arguments that Sanders went in the fifth round simply because the league sees him as a fifth-round talent. Many of the coaches that played Sanders will tell anyone that’s not the case, and a lot of them already have. Throughout the 2024 college season, opposing coaches frequently praised Sanders as he picked apart their teams.
One college coach who played the rookie quarterback during both his seasons at Colorado is Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule. Rhule went on the record before the draft telling Pete Thamel he’d take Sanders with the No. 3 pick if he was it the New York Giants. He praised the young quarterback for being tough, accurate, smart, and being able to handle any spotlight that’s put on him.
That spotlight won’t be in New York, but Cleveland, where Sanders is a part of a crowded quarterback room. However, even as a fifth-round pick, he’ll have the opportunity to prove any critics wrong and become a starter for the Browns.