Shedeur Sanders 'Extremely Grateful' for Browns Pick, QB Won't Focus on 'Negative'

Shedeur Sanders dealt with plenty of outside noise over the last few days as he fell in the NFL Draft, but he expressed his gratitude after being selected by the Cleveland Browns in the fifth round on Saturday.

"I'm extremely grateful for the opportunity throughout everything," Sanders told reporters on a conference call. "I don't ever focus on a negative or even think about the negative because the positive happened so fast."

In the months leading up to the draft, Sanders was widely projected to be a first-round pick, and there were even debates about whether he should go first overall. Even after it became clear that the Tennessee Titans were going to draft Cam Ward with the first pick, Sanders getting picked up in the first round was still a realistic outcome.

Sanders ultimately experienced an unprecedented slide to the fifth round, which led to plenty of criticism and other noise on social media. He said he was unfazed by all the chatter over the past few days.

"Nothing really affected me the last couple of days," Sanders said. "I'm blessed. I know I have to clean up some things in my game. The main thing is proving (head coach Kevin) Stefanski and [general manager Andrew] Berry right about picking me."

Along with Sanders, the Browns' quarterback room features Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, Deshaun Watson and Dillon Gabriel, who Cleveland drafted in the third round of the NFL Draft.

While Sanders might not be the starter out of the gate like he could have been on another team, he has no question about the fit with the Browns.

"I know I'm going to fit in (with the Browns) perfectly," he said. "I'm here ready to work. The opportunity to see the real me and not stuff that might not be true."

Why Sanders fell so far in the draft will be a topic of conversation for the rest of the offseason, but there's no question he has NFL skill. He threw for 4,134 yards and 37 touchdowns in his final campaign at Colorado.

He'll now look to put on a show in Cleveland as he tries to help turn the Browns around.