When the draft process first started, Shedeur Sanders to the Cleveland Browns was a popular connection. Cleveland had the second-overall pick, and Sanders was widely considered one of the two best quarterbacks in the draft class. Now, following the draft, Sanders is a member of the Browns.
However, the polarizing quarterback wasn’t selected by Cleveland with the second-overall pick. Instead, the team selected him in the fifth round with the 144th pick, after five quarterbacks had already been drafted— including Dillon Gabriel by the Browns in round three. Sanders’ slide, and eventual landing in Cleveland, was one of the most bizarre sagas in draft history.
While he was initially expected to be a top pick at the start of the draft process, it became evident in the days leading up the draft Sanders would slide out of the top 10. One reason why the narrative changed for the quarterback is that analysts argued he doesn’t have any elite traits.
Sanders isn’t a big quarterback, measuring in at 6’1 1/2” and 212 pounds at the scouting combine, and he also doesn’t have the rocket arm or elite athleticism that wins everyone over during spring-time evaluations.
Although those traits don’t even equate to being a competent quarterback, plenty of people argued Sanders wasn’t worth an early first-round pick because he lacked those specific traits. Somewhere in the process, Sanders lacking those specific traits evolved into him not having any elite traits at all. However, anyone who has watched Sanders closely throughout his collegiate career could tell you that’s not true.
The fifth-round pick repeatedly showcased the ability to excel at the basic principles of quarterbacking like accuracy and decision-making. A case can be made that those are elite traits for Sanders. However, his most elite trait is something that was on full display throughout the draft: his mental makeup.
Shedeur Sanders is already showcasing what makes him a good quarterback
There’s no doubt Sanders expected to go in the first round of the draft. As he fell through the rounds, becoming a national storyline that left the sports world, his family kept the cameras rolling, nearly documenting every moment until his name was called. What the world got to see was an unfazed Shedeur Sanders that carried on in the same fashion he did before the draft started.
Naturally, some internet psychologist would argue he was just putting on a facade, but Sanders disputed that notion during his first conference call with the media after being drafted. The young quarterback explained that nothing really affected him throughout the days of the draft, comparing the process to a game of football.
Sanders explained that as a quarterback, you can never get too high or too low, and that’s why he was able to take the draft situation in stride.
"For me, it was just playing quarterback. That's what it's about. You can't be up, too low or anything. You got to be able to celebrate. And when we score a touchdown, we celebrate for a little bit. Now, it's back to, time to work, it's time to go."Shedeur Sanders on draft slide
That’s also why a prank call that he was going to be drafted by the New Orleans Saints, orchestraded by Atlanta Falcons’ defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich’s son, didn’t really get to him. While everyone has been coming down hard on the 21-year old Jax Ulbrich, Sanders has simply said that the call was childish, but that everyone does childish things here and there.
People unfamiliar with Sanders may be inclined to write these comments off as a newly drafted player just trying to say the right things, but the statements truly reflect the mindset that made him a successful player in college.
From Jackson State to Colorado, there’s a reason why Sanders had so many game-winning drives and comebacks, and why his team’s never felt they were out of a game, regardless of the deficit. That reason is Sanders’ poise and steadiness.
He’s truly an unflappable young man that remains focused on finding a solution to the objective through anything. That mindset is absolutely necessary in the NFL— especially on the Cleveland Browns.
So while everyone is quick to point out his physical limitations, that don’t make or break quarterbacks, Sanders has maintained that his game is played between the ears. He understands that his best attribute is his mind, and he demonstrated that during the draft to anyone who was unfamiliar.