When Shedeur Sanders fell out of the first round, maybe some opinions started to change.
But when he fell all the way to being selected in the fifth round, that's when reality sunk in for many fans.
The Cleveland Browns had just drafted, by all accounts, their fourth-string quarterback in Sanders. The odds that he ends up being the starter, based solely on his draft position, are not good -- and the critics have made it known.
But, Sanders isn't your typical fifth-round pick. This is, after all, a player who was talked about as a first-round pick for months on end until his ultimate slipping. So, who is to believe what? There's no telling what will happen with Sanders, as a Brown, until we see it unfold on the field.
One former All Pro defensive back, however, is calling his shot right now.
A 4-time Pro Bowler believes Shedeur Sanders will start early in the 2025 season
Chris Harris Jr. joined Kay Adams on the most recent episode of Up & Adams and was asked whether he believes Shedeur is going to start Week 1.
"I don't think he starts out the gate. I think around Week 5, Week 4 ... I think during the season he'll get a shot to play," he said.
"By Week 5 he should be ready to go," Harris affirmed.
Well, we don't yet know the Browns' full schedule but by next week we will. If Sanders winds up starting by Week 5, it will be interesting to see who his first opponent shake out to be.
Now, that's also assuming Harris' bold prediction comes to fruition. Between now and the start of the regular season, there is bound to be a whole lot of changes within the Browns' depth chart.
First and foremost, I would expect Kenny Pickett to eventually land elsewhere while Joe Flacco begins camp as the starter, with Dillon Gabriel and Sanders checking in next.
Sanders is going to have his work cut out for him, too, and not to pass Gabriel. It will take a lot to pass Flacco on this depth chart; a guy who led this franchise to an unlikely turnaround and playoff berth recently.
During a time where fans were down in the dumps and couldn't get over the Deshaun Watson mistake, Flacco helped lift them up. Do we really expect Sanders to waltz in as a fifth-round pick and unseat the veteran?
It's a long shot.