Draft drop don’t faze Shedeur Sanders

(News4usOnline) – The conversation swirling around quarterback Shedeur Sanders before the draft, during the draft, and after the draft, went from entertainment to heartlessness to comforting, all in a matter of a couple of days.   

Somehow, some way, the football part got lost in the shuffle. 

When the 2025 NFL Draft came around, Sanders, the hotshot quarterback from the University of Colorado, was supposed to have his crowning moment on one of the league’s biggest platforms. Instead, the draft for Sanders turned into a quagmire. 

Sanders did not hear his name officially called out in the draft until Day 3, after 143 other players had been selected before him. Sanders was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the fifth round with the 144th pick overall. 

It was not the entrance going into the NFL that Sanders was expecting. However, he handled things pretty cool when he addressed the media about the wild ride of being considered to be a potential first-round draft pick to dropping off the board all the way until Day 3. 

Sanders was bypassed by teams such as the New Orleans Saints, Las Vegas Raiders, Pittsburgh, and New York Giants, teams in need of a young signal-caller, multiple times. 

The Browns even had the audacity of picking Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel in the third round of the draft before even considering adding Sanders to their roster. The Browns now have five quarterbacks on their team.  

But just as he had in leading the Jackson State and Colorado football programs to credibility and more national exposure, Sanders took a diplomatic approach to the situation. He viewed the perceived snub as an opportunity.  

“I would say I’m extremely grateful for the opportunity, throughout everything. I don’t ever focus on the negative or even think about the negative because the positive happens so fast, and it’s a change of emotions,” Sanders said. 

“For me, it was just playing quarterback,” he added. “That’s what it’s about. You can’t be up too low or anything, you got to be able to celebrate. Like when we score a touchdown, we celebrate for a little bit. Now it’s back to, it’s time to work, it’s time to go. So, that’s all it is, it’s a football game to me, and that’s how I view it.”

When asked what’s his approach to dealing with adversity, Sanders didn’t blink with his answer. 

“What fuels me is my purpose in life and understanding the route that we’re gonna have to take,” Sanders remarked. “Understanding that I was able to get an opportunity when a lot of people didn’t want to give me an opportunity. So that’s what I’m truly thankful for. That’s what fuels me.”

The dramatic drop from being a potential No. 1 pick to being just another guy in the draft has not hampered Sanders’ enthusiasm one bit. 

“I know I’m going to fit in perfectly,” Sanders said. “I feel like it’s first getting in, showing respect to the vets, showing them I’m here ready to work. Show the coaches and have them understand, I’m here ready to work. So they could actually understand the real me. That’s what I’m truly thankful to have, is the opportunity for people to actually see the real me and not be able to see stuff that could be true or not.” 

Sanders had to endure the embarrassment of not having his name called on Day 1 of the draft, which many people had predicted. Day 2 went by, and the uh-oh sound seemed to rummage its way from Green Bay, Wisconsin to the rest of the nation as Sanders had yet to hear his name called by a team. 

Well, Sanders did receive a call, but not the one he was looking forward to receiving. A prank call from the son of Atlanta Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich, just added embarrassment, scorn and confusion to an already uncertain moment in Sanders’ young life. 

The fake call made by 21-year-old Jax Ulbrich made a heightened situation for Sanders an almost unfathomable turn of events. The Falcons quickly sent out a statement condemning the inappropriate actions by the younger Ulbrich. 

With that matter behind him, Sanders, the son of NFL Hall of Famer and Colorado head coach Deion Sanders, can focus on the business of playing football, something he would not have had without the guidance of his famous father. And no, the younger Sanders does not view it as negative of walking in his father’s shadows and being a football legend’s son. 

“Well, it’s never a burden,” he said. “It’s never a burden. I wouldn’t look at that as that. I feel like everybody, God makes everybody have their own routes, and this is just my route. Like there’s nothing I would be able to go back and wish that wasn’t my dad because I’m truly thankful for him being there and the structure I have.”