Shedeur Sanders Eyes Browns Super Bowl, Talks Deion Relationship After NFL Draft Slide

Following his surprising slide to the fifth round of the 2025 NFL draft, new Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders discussed some major topics upon his arrival in Cleveland this week.

Sanders made a surprise visit to John Marshall High School in Cleveland on Wednesday, and he fielded questions from the students in attendance:

Per Jacob Camenker of USA Today, Sanders made his ultimate goal clear, saying: "I'm trying to bring Cleveland, of course, a Super Bowl."

Sanders also talked about the influence of his father, Deion Sanders, who was his head coach at the University of Colorado in addition to being a Pro Football Hall of Fame cornerback.

This week on the Scoop City podcast (beginning at the 8:50 mark), former NFL quarterback Chase Daniel suggested that comments Deion made last year contributed to Shedeur falling to the fifth round, saying:

"And then also we go back to the Deion thing. I think he's doing the right thing for his son, but he hinted it over a year ago, OK, that he might pull an Eli for his son because his son's a top-five guy in the draft. Do you think that went over well in draft rooms? Like, we don't have to have hot takes. This is just pure, simply stated facts."

Daniel was referencing Deion's appearance on the Million Dollaz Worth of Game podcast (h/t ESPN.com) in March 2024 when he said, "It's going to be an Eli," after being asked about a team Shedeur potentially didn't want to play for trying to draft him.

That was an allusion to the 2004 draft when quarterback Eli Manning made it clear he didn't want to play for the San Diego Chargers, which led to them trading him to the New York Giants after selecting him first overall.

Despite the talk of Deion adversely impacting his stock, Shedeur said Deion's presence has been a "positive," adding: "I'm thankful my dad took the opportunity to do what he was supposed to do. I don't never feel shame or anything like that. ... My dad's who he is, and I'm gonna be who I am regardless. I'm always gonna be his son."

In the end, Sanders landed with a team that may give him a legitimate chance to win the starting job as a rookie.

The Browns took Sanders with the 144th overall pick in the fifth round, adding him to a quarterback room that includes Kenny Pickett, Joe Flacco and Dillion Gabriel, who Cleveland selected with the 94th overall pick in the third round.

Since Deshaun Watson is in danger of missing much or all of the 2025 season due to a torn Achilles, there figures to be a four-way battle for the starting job in training camp between Sanders, Pickett, Flacco and Gabriel.

Now that the initial shock of Sanders falling to Day 3 despite having first-round hype has worn off, he will have the opportunity to prove the rest of the league wrong for passing on him.